Gritting and snow clearance in Redhill

Communal entrances, bin store paths and front steps in Redhill, gritted before the frost bites.

Gritting in Redhill often means looking after a path that belongs to everyone. The town centre has gained a good number of flats in recent years, and the apartments at Royal Earlswood Park share entrances too. When frost or snow is on the way we clear and salt those by hand, along with private drives, steps and front paths across the town.

We’re four and a half miles south in Horley and have worked around Redhill since 2004. The town isn’t one height, either. The flat centre sits at about 80 metres on old marshy ground by Redhill Brook, while St Johns is nearer 110, built over steep sandy hillocks.

Gritting Redhill’s blocks of flats and shared paths

Shared paths are where ice gets left. Each resident assumes someone else will see to it, and the managing agent is often miles away. A simple list agreed before winter sorts that out: the main entrance, the steps, the ramp, the route to the bin store and any residents’ car park. When frost or snow is forecast we come out, work through the list by hand and tell the agent or residents’ group it’s done.

Bin store paths matter more than people think. They get used in the dark, often by someone carrying a heavy bag, and frost hangs on longest in the shade where they’re tucked.

Steep sandy ground at St Johns, flat wet ground in town

Up around St Johns the sand drains quickly, so there’s less standing water, but the slopes and steps are steeper and snow gets trodden into ice on them fast. Those get cleared first. Down in the centre the ground is flat and was once marsh, and water lies on paving long enough to freeze in a sheet. There we salt ahead of the frost, while the surface is still damp, so it can’t set. We keep salt well away from the holly and native hedges along many St Johns boundaries.

Gritting in Redhill: your questions

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

We’re a residents’ association. Can we book gritting for the whole block?

Yes. We agree the routes with whoever’s organising it, write them down and stick to the same list all winter. We’ll tell you after each visit, so nobody has to step outside at seven to check.

What’s the difference between snow clearance and gritting?

Snow clearance is moving the snow itself, by hand, while it’s still loose. Gritting is salting the surface so water can’t freeze on it. After a snowfall we do both, in that order, because salt scattered over deep snow just makes slush that freezes again.

Do you work for businesses in Redhill too?

We do. Redhill has the borough’s largest industrial estate and several head offices, and HSE expects employers to manage slip risk on outdoor routes in ice and snow. We treat entrances, paths and car parks to a winter plan agreed in writing.