Gritting and snow clearance in Brockham

Drives, paths and doorsteps kept walkable either side of the Mole, on clay and on sand.

Brockham is mostly houses with their own drives. The 2011 census counted over 900 detached and semi-detached homes in the parish and just over a hundred flats. So gritting in Brockham is mainly about private ground: the drive, the front path, the step up to the door and the passage round to the bins, all done by hand.

We’re six and a half miles away in Horley, which puts the village comfortably inside our winter patch. When snow falls we clear it first, before it’s packed down, so the salt has a clean surface to work on. Then we salt only the surfaces people walk on, and none of the beds.

Gritting in Brockham, clay side or sand side

The Mole splits the village in two underfoot. South of it, the British Geological Survey maps Weald Clay under the green, the church and out through Strood Green. Clay keeps paths and patio edges damp for days, so a frost after rain leaves a glaze you don’t see until you’re on it. North of the river, on sandstone, gardens drain quickly and paths dry sooner, though a drive shaded by trees can stay white all day. The Environment Agency has a flood warning area for the river here, so watch low ground near it when a wet spell turns cold.

A winter list agreed before the cold arrives

Most households here are better off agreeing their paths in the autumn than ringing on the morning. Tell us which drive, which steps and which path, and whether that includes a side gate or a back door. Through the winter we turn up when frost or snow is forecast and send a message once it’s done. It suits commuters, and anyone arranging it for an elderly parent in the village who shouldn’t be out salting the step at seven in the morning.

Gritting in Brockham: your questions

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

Will you grit the paths across the green?

No. The green and the public paths over it aren’t ours to treat. We grit private ground: your drive, path, steps and entrance, and the paths at sites such as a church, a school or a block of flats.

Our path is old stone. Can you still grit it?

Tell us what it’s made of before the first frost. Natural limestone and reconstituted stone react badly to salt, and so does concrete laid in the last few months. There we clear snow carefully and use salt sparingly, or not at all.

What happens if it snows for days?

We keep coming back. Fresh snow buries salt and footfall wears it thin, and below about minus five salt does very little, so clearing each new fall promptly matters most.