With the first icy blasts of Winter, KEN BENNETT meets the team ready for the seasonal battle.

CRAIG Dale the affable head of operational services for Oldham Council gazes fondly at his celebrity line-up of lifesaving talent ...

There is Snowbee One Kenobi, Basil Salty, Leonardo De Icio, Gritiana Grande, Nick Gritshaw, Winston Churc-chill, and ... Brad Grit completing the illustrious list of high profile gritters.

This impressive hi-tech vanguard is the front line in the battle to ensure the borough’s highways, by-ways and key Pennine routes remain open during the winter.

And Oldham’s initiative encouraging children to come up with fun names for the mighty fleet has gained nationwide publicity and raised their profile leading to other local authorities to adopt similar schemes.

For example, Oldham’s four-wheel drive Nicole Saltslinger, named after the former Pussycat Doll and X-Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger, became the most famous vehicle in the country.

And Craig says with pride: “Asking our community to come up with quirky names for our snow patrol has had a tremendous beneficial relationship with the townsfolk many who now see the gritters as their own.”

Oldham’s location as the highest geographical borough in the whole of Greater Manchester reaching 1,778 ft above sea level at Black Chew Head presents daunting challenges for the highways team.

From October to April, they operate is a subtle 24 hour, seven day a week roads monitor programme backed by four duty managers operating a four week rota with 32 staff on split shift rotas ready for every eventuality.

Two weather stations - one on Oldham bypass and another at Bleak Hey Nook on the A62 Oldham to Huddersfield Road above Diggle - provide the latest local weather information and vital road surface temperatures.

This helps the team plan and treat 173 miles of six primary gritting routes, including Lees Road, Ripponden Road, Huddersfield Road and the 531 miles of the highways network in two climatic zones.

There are 12 secondary routes accommodating refuse, recycling and snow routes plus four trans-Pennine routes – 1300ft to 1600ft.

“Gritting usually happens at night taking about three to four hours to complete primary gritting routes,” Craig explained.

Does salt directly melt snow?

“No - it firstly has to mix with the snow to form a saline solution and lower the melting point. Consequently, where possible, we plan to salt ahead of snow so the saline solution is created as snow falls.

“Preceding rain can cause issues,”he declared. “Snow can fall at a rate faster than salt can mix with the snow which means snow may accumulate.”

He went on : “There is no cost benefit of investing millions of pounds to avoid occasional disruption.The UK rarely has extended periods of cold with snow that freezes the ground causing the snow to stay around.

“The closer to melting point the temperature is the more variable and tricky the snow can be. When it falls, it usually lands on warmer ground or ground pre-treated with grit and at least some melts straight away.

“In some ways the milder the climate is the harder it is to deal with than more extreme weather in other countries.”

The celebrity vehicles are on lease during the winter months accruing massive savings on maintaining a fleet for a 12 month period.

And gazing at the 6,500 tonnes of grit stockpiled at his town centre headquarters he added: “Backed by our team I’m confident we are ready for anything for what winter has to offer ...”