Gritting and snow clearance in Horne

Long country drives, park home steps and the walk to the bins, gritted by hand.

Horne sits four and a half miles east of our base in Horley, out across farmland. Gritting in Horne is mostly about distance on foot: the length of a drive, the steps to a back door, the walk out to where the bins wait for collection. Many homes are set well back, so one cold snap can leave someone stuck at the far end of an icy drive.

The ground is the other half of it. Almost the whole parish is Wealden Clay, which holds rain near the surface, and wet clay freezes into a hard glaze along paths and drive edges. We salt before the frost where we can, and keep it off the lawn and the hedge bottom.

Long drives and the walk to the bins

At the 2011 census Horne had 181 detached homes and 19 caravans or mobile homes, against only 13 terraced houses. That shapes the winter work. On a long drive, driveway gritting usually means a safe walking line the whole way, with the slope, the bend and the turning space done properly. Park homes often have steps or a ramp up to the door, among the easiest places to fall. We’ll ask who uses which route, carers and deliveries included, and grit to suit.

Gritting in Horne for the church and the units at Newchapel

The parish’s commercial sites get busy on a cold morning. Units on Hobbs Industrial Estate at Newchapel have staff arriving early, and HSE looks to employers to manage the slip risk outside as well as in. St Mary’s has a south door from around 1250 and a timber-framed porch, and a funeral in a hard frost needs a safe path to it. For sites like these we agree in writing which entrances and paths we treat, and turn out whenever the forecast calls for it.

Gritting in Horne: your questions

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

Our drive is shared with the neighbours. Can you grit all of it?

Yes, as long as everyone who shares it is happy. It’s simplest if one household books it and agrees the route for all of you. We’ll let them know each time it’s done.

Can I book it for my mother, who lives alone out here?

Yes. Give us the address, the paths and steps she uses and a number to report back to. When frost or snow is on the forecast we’ll do the agreed routes and tell you.

Does salt still work in a really hard frost?

Less well. Below about minus five it does much less, and open countryside often gets colder than town on a clear, still night. That’s when clearing snow promptly matters most.