First reported 3 Apr 2014•Latest report 21 Jul 2016
Definition
What this concern includes
Includes failures in the dedicated winter road maintenance process, including policy requirements, weather and road-condition monitoring, information sharing, decision-making, deployment, reassessment and timely gritting or salting in response to changing hazardous conditions.
Not included
Excludes general highway maintenance, inspection, hazard-reporting or remedial-work failures where winter maintenance response is not the identified unsafe condition.
Excludes ordinary road collisions, slippery-road hazards or adverse weather where no deficiency in the winter road maintenance process is identified.
Excludes generic inter-agency information-sharing or decision-making deficiencies unless they directly concern winter road maintenance decisions or deployment.
Excludes vehicle, driver, road-design and permanent road-infrastructure deficiencies unrelated to winter maintenance response.
Reports
2
Distinct published reports
Individual concerns
5
A report can raise multiple concerns
Date range
2014–2016
First to latest report issue date
Stated actions
7
Described in published responses
Reports over time
Reports over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
Durham County Council2
English unitary authority2
Concerns and responses across reports
Only concerns grouped under this recurring concern are included. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.
County Durham and Darlington
Concerns raised3
Failure of winter road maintenance policy and decision-making processes to accommodate local extreme variations in road conditions
Lack of formal review of winter maintenance decision-making process and policy
Winter maintenance policy failing to provide for changing conditions between maintenance decisions
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
Action
Reassign gritting route 28 from the Central to the Low Pennines weather forecasting domain.
Stated by Durham County CouncilStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 July 2016.
Action
Test all assumptions in the Winter Maintenance Operational Plan to confirm that they remain valid.
Stated by Durham County CouncilStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 July 2016.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
Position
Existing winter maintenance procedures provide robust arrangements for responding to variations in weather conditions in accordance with the national Code.
Stated by Durham County CouncilExisting arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
County Durham and Darlington
Concerns raised2
Lack of collective information sharing between police and the local authority
Failure of County Council practices and procedures to ensure a timely and proportionate response to potentially dangerous road conditions
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.5
Action
Review information-sharing protocols with Durham Constabulary to identify improvements.
Stated by Durham County CouncilStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 3 April 2014.
Action
Require meaningful communication with weather forecasters when conditions are marginal or change, so revised actions can be implemented.
Stated by Durham County CouncilStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 3 April 2014.
Action
Deploy Duty Highway Inspectors on standby at strategic depots during specified low-confidence amber warnings to monitor forecasts and support decisions.
Stated by Durham County CouncilStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 3 April 2014.
Action
Deploy winter maintenance vehicles on standby at strategic depots during specified low-confidence amber warnings for immediate gritting response.
Stated by Durham County CouncilStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 3 April 2014.
Action
Remind Duty Managers to prioritise highway-network safety and maintain appropriate resources for rapidly changing conditions.
Stated by Durham County CouncilStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 3 April 2014.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.5
Position
Existing communication mechanisms and information-sharing protocols are considered effective for managing highways through partnership working.
Stated by Durham County CouncilExisting arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
Position
The Constabulary disputes that road incident reporting was ad hoc or lacked supervisory oversight.
Stated by Durham ConstabularyDisputes the concernThe respondent disagreed with part of the concern or the basis for it.
Position
Established procedures, supervision and communication arrangements with the Council are considered robust and fit for purpose.
Stated by Durham ConstabularyExisting arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
Position
The existing Winter Service Plan is considered effective and sufficient to meet the Council’s reasonably practicable highway safety duty.
Stated by Durham County CouncilExisting arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
Position
Snow and ice risks cannot be completely eliminated because forecasting and salting effectiveness depend on uncertain weather and traffic conditions.
Stated by Durham County CouncilUnable to actThe respondent said that a constraint prevented them from taking the relevant action.
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Includes failures in the dedicated winter road maintenance process, including policy requirements, weather and road-condition monitoring, information sharing, decision-making, deployment, reassessment and timely gritting or salting in response to changing hazardous conditions.
