Gritting & Snow Clearance in East Grinstead

Gritting and snow clearance in East Grinstead

Steep drives, steps and entrances in a hilltop town, cleared and salted by hand.

Gritting in East Grinstead is mostly a question of slopes. The old town stands above 130 metres on a sandstone ridge, and the suburbs built since Victorian times spread down the hillsides around it, south of the centre quite steeply. That means a lot of sloping drives, stepped front paths and banked entrances.

We’re seven miles west in Horley, towards the far side of the area we work in. So we’d steer East Grinstead customers towards agreeing a winter plan in the autumn, rather than ringing on the morning the snow arrives. Once the paths are agreed, we watch the forecast for you, come out when it turns wintry, do the work on foot and let you know.

Gritting East Grinstead’s steps and steep drives

On a slope, trodden snow is the real danger. Once it’s packed down it’s slippery, and salt struggles to shift it. So on hilly plots we clear snow early, while it’s loose, starting at the top and working down so nothing gets pushed back over ground we’ve cleared. Then we salt, giving the steepest part and the top and bottom of any steps the most attention. Steps on north-facing slopes, or under the woodland that wraps round so much of the town, can stay icy all day, and we look at them again on the next visit.

Plenty of old walls and steps here are local sandstone. If yours are natural stone, tell us, and we’ll go sparing with salt and rely more on clearing.

Commercial gritting for business units, care homes and schools

East Grinstead works as well as commutes. The Birches Industrial Estate is its largest business site, with older estates in the centre and towards the west, and the town has care homes, secondary schools and hotels. HSE puts the onus on employers to deal with slip risks outside the building too, and an icy entrance in January is exactly that. As a gritting company we treat the ground people walk on: entrances, ramps, steps, car parks and the path from parking to the door. Many former offices are now flats, and their shared entrances can go on a winter plan too.

Gritting in East Grinstead: your questions

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

We’re at the top of a steep drive. Will you get to us when it snows?

In most snow, yes, though nobody can promise in severe weather and we won’t pretend otherwise. Customers with an agreed winter plan are already on our list, so we plan our days around them.

Is salt bad for my lawn and borders?

On any soil, too much salt harms grass and plants, so salt stays on the paving and well clear of the edges. We don’t pile salty snow on the lawn either. If you find browned edges in spring, that’s usually where salty slush ended up.

Do you cover Felbridge and the edges of town?

Yes. Felbridge, the estates out to the west and the older streets round the centre are all within reach from Horley.