Commercial gritting in Bletchingley

Inn steps, school gates, shop doorways and church paths in a sloping village, gritted ahead of frost.

Commercial gritting in Bletchingley for shop and office doorways, pub car parks and steps, school gates, church paths and the communal walkways at blocks of flats. A good deal of the village sits on a slope, and almost every door in the old centre has a step up to it. So we agree your routes in the autumn and treat them by hand whenever frost or snow is forecast.

There’s plenty here to keep safe through the winter. Three pubs, one of them an inn with letting rooms, shops and businesses in the old buildings round the former market place, the primary with its nursery classes, The Hawthorns on its 35 acre site, St Mary’s and the parish cemetery. We’re a gritting company five and a half miles away in Horley, so an early start here is a short trip.

Guests leaving early, staff leaving late

An inn with rooms keeps odd hours. A guest heading off for an early flight walks out before the kitchen team arrives, and the last of the bar staff go home long after closing. So for a pub that lets rooms we plan both ends of the night: the guest entrance and steps for first thing, and the path to the bin store before the evening shift leaves. Car park gritting at a pub is usually the walking line between the spaces and the door, plus the steps down from the patio.

Commercial gritting in Bletchingley on the ridge

Bletchingley sits on a wide escarpment of the Greensand Ridge. Sand drains well, so ice here is down to gradient more than puddles: a sloping school path, a car park falling towards its entrance, worn steps on buildings that open almost straight onto the footpath. Salt stays well clear of the soft local sandstone in the boundary walls. Agreed routes and dated visit notes help whoever’s responsible show they took sensible steps.

Commercial gritting in Bletchingley: your questions

Anything else, just ring. You’ll speak to the people who do the work.

We don’t open the shop until nine. Is early gritting worth it?

If staff or deliveries arrive earlier, yes. Frost on a shaded step can hang about well into a cold morning, and the first person through the door is usually the one who finds it.

Can you finish before nursery drop off?

Yes. Nursery and reception families come with toddlers in tow, so gates and entrance paths are treated before the first of them. Tell us when the site opens and we’ll be gone by then.

Is salt safe near the church’s old stone and gravestones?

Not in quantity. St Mary’s churchyard has listed monuments among its standing stones, and salt can mark and weaken soft stone. We treat only the walking surface of the agreed path, use as little as does the job and keep salty slush away from monuments and walls.