Gritting and snow clearing in Outwood

Paths and drives salted sparingly, because Outwood gardens run straight into ponds, meadow and common.

Gritting in Outwood comes with a responsibility most places don’t have. So many gardens here back onto the Harewoods estate, with its hundred-plus ponds, or onto a common the National Trust now mows less so its meadow flowers can come through. Salt that runs off a drive doesn’t stop at the fence. So we use as little as the surface needs and put it only where people walk.

The houses make that easier than it sounds. The 2011 census counted 155 detached homes in the parish and just three terraces, which usually means a private drive, a front door and a back path, with very little shared. We’re four miles off in Horley. Ring when frost or snow is on the way, or tell us in the autumn which paths to do and we’ll keep an eye on the forecast for you.

Why we go easy on salt in Outwood

Salt doesn’t disappear when the ice melts. It soaks into the soil at the edge of the path, and lawns and hedges take it up in spring, browning from the margins inwards. Weald Clay drains slowly, so salty meltwater lingers round the roots for longer than it would on sand. Our habit is to clear snow by hand first, so the salt only has a thin film to deal with, then scatter it thinly along the walking line. Cleared snow goes onto hard ground, never the lawn or the ditch.

Under the old oaks there’s an extra step. Wet leaves pressed onto a path freeze into something slicker than plain ice, so we lift them off before anything else.

Gritting in Outwood for the church, pubs and clubs

Outwood’s commercial sites need a winter plan too. There’s a Victorian church about a mile from the village centre, surrounded by National Trust farmland, with a churchyard path that matters most on a dark winter morning before a service. There are pubs whose terraces, entrances and car parks see walkers in every season, and a cricket club on the common. HSE expects places like these to manage slip risk on outdoor routes in ice and snow. We’ll agree in writing which paths, steps and car parks to treat, and come out ahead of the frost.

Gritting in Outwood: your questions

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

We back onto a pond. Should we grit at all?

Yes, a safe way to your door still comes first. We’d just use less, keep it to the paths you walk and pile cleared snow well away from the water and the lawn.

Is your gritting service only for emergencies?

It works best planned. Most people agree a list of paths before the first frost, and we come when the forecast drops below freezing. You can still ring on the day, but salt laid the evening before does far more than salt thrown onto ice.