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What is the Salt Bag Partnership and how can I sign up?
Essex County Council has made one tonne of bagged salt available to every Town and Parish Council and County Council Member whose ward covers urban un-parished areas, if they want to sign up to the scheme. This will help them respond to the needs of their local community and build resilience during periods of heavy snow.
All Parishes/Town councils and Members covering un-parished areas are contacted earlier in the year and asked to submit a form before a deadline of the 22 July in order that the quantity of salt required for the scheme could be ordered and countywide delivery arranged.
We do not re-stock during the year and do not have the storage available to accommodate people wishing to sign up past the deadline.
The launch of the scheme was earlier this year following feedback that participants wanted more time to plan the areas they wanted to target in the community, recruit volunteers and issue the salt to them prior to the winter season so they could be ready.
Full details of the scheme and a list of participants can be viewed from the Salt Bag Partnership page.
We are a Residents Association/Neighbourhood Watch Group. Can we sign up to the Salt Bag Scheme?
Residents Associations and Neighbourhood Watch groups are not normally constituted, cover a recognised well defined geographical area and do not usually have their own insurance arrangements to cover volunteers participating in the scheme. There could also be a large number wanting salt in addition to that provided to the Parish and Town Council and County Councillors who sign up making the scheme unsustainable.
However, Residents Associations and Neighbourhood Watch groups and other groups can still be active in the community by approaching their participating local Parish or Town Council or County Councillor (if based in an un-parished ward) to volunteer.
A list of participants can be viewed from the Salt Bag Partnership page.
How can I volunteer?
Parish, Town Councils and County Councillors covering urban un-parished areas participating in the scheme need reliable local volunteers to help them clear snow and salt during the winter.
If you would like to get involved in your local community and want to volunteer you can contact your participating Parish/Town Council or participating County Councillor (for in-parished urban wards). A list of participants can be viewed from the Salt Bag Partnership page.
Which areas are covered?
Each participating area will identify areas that the local community will need to access during periods of heavy snow which will not be treated by Essex Highways. This may include locations which are considered important by the local community, such as footpaths outside doctor’s surgeries, local shops and services and access routes to the main bus stops. It will be for them to decide these locations or priority sites. For each priority site identified, contact can be made with local residents, residents associations, shop keepers etc., to ask them to help out with the scheme by volunteering to clear snow and spread salt and build their community resilience in winter.
What do the volunteers do?
The volunteers will be advised what they will be required to do in the event of snow fall and be confident that they can clear the snow from the priority area allocated to them, that they have access to suitable equipment and are confident that they are physically able to undertake the activity. When the snow comes it will be for the volunteer to decide if they feel able to undertake the activity safely and if so, to attempt to clear the snow and salt.
Each volunteer should be allocated a volume of salt per priority site before the onset of snow/ice so they are ready.
More information can be viewed in the Volunteer Briefing Notes which can be downloaded from the Salt Bag Partnership page.
How is the salt packed and when is it delivered?
The salt will be brown rock salt in 25kg sealed bags, approx. 1 Tonne in weight delivered as a wrapped pallet (there are approx. 40 bags per pallet).
The salt will be delivered by a large lorry (a bit bigger than a dustbin lorry) and the salt will be removed from the lorry via a tail lift and then moved on a trolley to its final destination. The trolley does not go over uneven or loose ground (grass, pebbles etc) or steep inclines. The location identified for delivery must be able to accommodate this.
The delivery company will contact the delivery contact person provided by the participant to arrange the delivery prior to them coming out.
Deliveries can only made to one drop off location per parish or town council area.
Deliveries will start from September to early October to be completed prior to the winter season in order that the salt can be distributed to the volunteers prior to snow and ice so that they are ready.
Salt should be secured or distributed to the volunteers as soon as possible after delivery. Past feedback received was that bags were stolen from some areas when salt was left unattended and unsecured leaving the volunteers without supplies when the snow came.
Can the salt be used anywhere?
No. The salt is for use on the public highway only not private driveways or private land.
The emphasis is on encouraging the clearance of snow from footpaths and minor estate roads then spreading a very thin layer of salt once the area is clear of snow.
How much salt should be used?
The amount of salt required to treat an area is much less than you think. As a guide 20g/m2 (about a handful) should be sufficient to clear and protect a 1m2 (3ft) length of cleared surface.
What if we run out of salt?
We procure the volume of salt required following the closing date of the salt bag scheme and will not be storing excess salt bags. If you require more salt, it can be purchased from builder’s merchants, DIY stores and even some larger retail stores.
Remember that salt has no effect on snow or ice; it only prevents melted ice and snow from re-freezing.
If you run out of salt, snow clearance will still make a huge difference as any sunlight will heat up the cleared areas and help melt the surrounding area.
If you cannot manually remove the ice, your main option is spread grit or sand over the ice which can become embedded into it and provides some traction when people walk on it, the drawback with grit and sand is the pavement will need sweeping once the thaw has taken place. Once swept up this sand can be saved and used again next year.