Gritting & Snow Clearance in Bletchingley

Gritting and snow clearance in Bletchingley

Front steps, sloping drives and church paths on the greensand ridge, salted and cleared by hand.

Most of Bletchingley sits on a wide slope of the Greensand Ridge, and a slope is what makes ice dangerous. A flat icy path is awkward. A sloping one, or a couple of steps down to a front door, is how people get hurt. Our gritting in Bletchingley covers those places: steps, paths, drives, entrances and the walk to the bins.

The sandy soil helps a little. Greensand drains quickly, so standing water is rare. But a dry, clear night still leaves frost on brick and stone, and snow trodden flat on a slope packs into ice. So we clear snow before anyone walks it in, then salt.

Old village houses, newer ones and a lot of steps

Older houses in the centre often open straight onto the footpath, with a step or two up to the door. Behind them on the north side the medieval plots run back as far as 90 metres, so the route to the shed or the bins can be a long one. Then come the 1980s houses, the flats made out of a big old house, and the semis spreading east and west. Driveway gritting matters most there, where cars and feet share one sloping strip. Many boundary walls are soft local sandstone, so we keep salty slush away from their base.

Gritting in Bletchingley for the church, schools and pubs

Village sites have their own winter pinch points. St Mary’s is a Grade I church in a traditional churchyard, and people still need to reach it for services and funerals in January. One of the two schools is in a listed house on a 35-acre site, and both have families at the gates in the half-light. The pubs have patios, letting rooms and guests leaving early. HSE expects anyone running a workplace to think about icy outdoor routes, so we’ll settle in the autumn which paths matter and treat them whenever a frost is forecast.

Gritting in Bletchingley: your questions

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

Can you grit the church path before a winter funeral?

Yes, if whoever looks after the path asks us. Ring as soon as the date is set and tell us which route people will use. If frost is forecast we’ll aim to salt it the evening before, and clear any snow first.

My front door opens almost onto the pavement. Is it worth booking?

Often it’s the step itself that catches people out, and that’s quick to do. We’ll clear and salt the step and anything else on your side of the boundary, and fit it in with other houses nearby.

Do you cover the clay end of the parish too?

Yes. Further south the parish runs off the sand onto Wealden Clay, where paths hold water and ice over far more readily. On the clay we pay closer attention to wet hollows and shaded corners.