Commercial gritting in Godstone

Business units, inns, schools and flats across Godstone and South Godstone, gritted by hand before anyone’s about.

Commercial gritting in Godstone covers the car parks and walkways at business units, the entrances and ramps at schools, nurseries and the nursing home, the steps and terraces at the old inns, and the communal paths at blocks of flats. We clear snow off the routes people use and salt them by hand. In frosty weather we treat them the evening before or first thing, ahead of staff, customers and residents.

The parish stretches across two village centres and down to South Godstone and Blindley Heath, so our gritting services here run as a round of sites on each cold evening. We come over from Horley, six and a half miles away, mark your routes on a plan after an autumn site walk, then watch the forecast ourselves.

Sand in the village, clay to the south: commercial gritting in Godstone

Godstone village sits on the Folkestone sands, which drain quickly, so paving there usually takes a light frost that salt deals with well. Towards Blindley Heath, in the south of the parish, the ground is Weald Clay. It soaks up water and goes soft in winter, puddles linger at the edges of car parks and paths, and on a clear night they set hard, so sites down that way get a second look.

At Lambs Business Park in South Godstone, car park gritting means the walking lines between the bays and each door, disabled bays first, plus any fire exit or bin store path behind the units. Several tenants can share one plan.

Late finishes at the inns, early starts at the school gates

The inns around the Green have steps, terraces and courtyards that customers cross in the dark, and staff lock up late, so we treat those routes in the early evening while the salt has time to work. Schools run on the opposite clock. Both primaries take children from two, parents come through the gate with a toddler on one hip, and HSE advises gritting before people arrive, so gates and paths are done before eight.

Commercial gritting in Godstone: your questions

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

We manage a block of flats in Godstone. Can winter gritting go into the service charge?

Yes. A winter gritting contract for one season, agreed in writing before November, keeps the service charge predictable. It covers communal paths, car park walkways and bin store routes, with each visit logged.

Our nursing home has residents with dementia. Which routes get treated first?

Usually the level paths residents and visitors use, the ramp at the main entrance and the way staff come in for the early shift. We settle the order on the site walk, so in snow those routes are cleared and salted before anything else.

Can you grit the pub terrace in the evening rather than first thing?

Yes, and for a pub it’s often the better time. Salt laid before the frost sets in is already working when the last customers leave, and it’s still there for the morning delivery.