Gritting and snow clearance in Oxted

Long drives, stone steps and shared paths at converted houses, gritted by hand under the Downs.

Plenty of Oxted homes have more path than most. The town is known for its large Arts and Crafts houses, many of the old manors and mansions are now flats, and a fair few front doors sit at the top of a run of steps. Our gritting in Oxted covers the private ground: drives, paths, steps, ramps and shared entrances, cleared of snow and salted by hand.

We’re nine miles away in Horley and it’s the same team every time. Most people join a winter list in the autumn and let us watch the forecast; others ring when snow is on the way. We always tell you when we’ve been.

Gritting Oxted’s drives and steps on sloping ground

The parish climbs to nearly 270 metres at its northern edge, the highest point anywhere on the North Downs, and it’s the steep side of the Downs that faces the town. Lots of drives rise or fall to the house, and a slope that’s merely awkward in October is a real hazard on a frosty morning. Shade makes it worse. A path behind a tall hedge or under a north wall can stay frozen all day after the lawn has thawed.

On a slope we salt the whole walking line and each step in turn. In the centre and Old Oxted, on free-draining greensand, paths often look dry. In Hurst Green and Holland, on clay with old river gravels over it, water lingers and freezes harder.

Shared paths at Oxted’s flats and care homes

The 2011 census counted nearly 800 flats in the parish, many in converted mansions where one long drive and a few sets of steps serve every flat. It’s easy for each resident to assume somebody else has dealt with the ice. If you run a block, sit on a residents’ committee or manage the building, we can agree the routes with you, salt them when frost is due and report back. Care homes and offices can have the same written arrangement, in line with the HSE’s expectation that outdoor routes are kept safe in ice and snow.

Gritting in Oxted: your questions

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

Our house has natural stone steps. Will salt harm them?

Some stone, limestone especially, doesn’t take kindly to salt, and very new concrete shouldn’t be salted in its first winter. Tell us what you’ve got when you book, and we’ll use the lightest scatter that does the job.

How often does it need doing in a cold spell?

A dry, still frost can leave grit working well into the next day, but rain, fresh snow and busy feet all wear it away. Once it’s colder than about minus five, salt slows right down, so clearing snow promptly matters more.

Am I responsible if someone slips on my drive?

Government guidance says you’re unlikely to be held responsible if you’ve cleared snow and ice carefully. Reasonable care is the test. Nobody can promise a path will never be slippery, though.