Oldham Council has added a new gritter to its fleet – and we don’t want it to feel left out…
Two years ago we ran a name the gritter competition and primary school children from across the borough ‘proved their salt’ and came up with some imaginative names for our eight vehicles.
Since then, whenever there has been a cold snap, Freddie Salted; Grittersaurus; Goliath; Walter the Salter; Gritterbug; Gritney Spears; Gritanator and Thor, have been out helping to keep the borough’s roads moving safely when the snow and ice has appeared.
Now we are asking our young people to come up with a name for the new addition to our team.
All you have to do is log onto www.oldham.gov.uk/winter and then give us your suggestions along with your details. You can send in one name or as many as you want.
Once the winning entry has been chosen the gritter will then be branded with its new name on the front of the cab. We’ll also be inviting the winner along to be photographed with the machine they have named.
You’ll then be able to look out for the vehicle as it travels around the borough spreading grit and salt.
The competition is open to primary school age children who either live in Oldham or attend a school in the borough. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Wednesday, November 30.
Councillor Fida Hussain, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said: “We had a great response to our name the gritter competition a few years ago and hopefully we’ll get the same this time around.
“Although it was a bit of fun it also helped to teach our young people about road safety and how we keep our roads safe in cold weather.
“Our fleet of gritters and their drivers play a vital role in helping to keep the borough moving and in recent years they have gritted thousands of miles of adopted highway during cold spells.”
As far as reasonably possible, the council will keep the primary highway network free of ice and snow at all times in order to help ensure a safe journey for commuters and residents.
Resources are initially directed to gritting seven priority routes, including the trans-Pennine roads and most of the principal, classified and major bus routes.
To keep residents fully informed of any developments the Oldham Council website – www.oldham.gov.uk/winter – will be updated continually and feature the latest news on school closures, gritting routes, locations of grit bins and grit sales.
Our First Response service will use its Twitter account @oldhamalert to inform followers of school and road closures or incidents.
These will also be retweeted for residents using the Council’s account @oldhamcouncil and updates will appear via the local media.