WE may still be in summer, but plans are already being made to ensure motorists in South Craven and across North Yorkshire can keep moving this winter.

The county council has invested nearly £2.2 million in 18 new gritters to replace some of the vehicles in its 80-strong fleet.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said: “We fully understand how important it is for residents and businesses to be able to keep moving throughout winter.

“To do that, we need to ensure our fleet stays right up-to-date.

“That’s why we’re investing now. We have a policy that none of our gritters should be more than eight years old and the average age of the whole fleet should be less than five.”

The fleet is operated by NY Highways, which was created by the county council but is run as a private business.

The company took on the role of maintaining North Yorkshire’s 5,800 miles of road after the county council’s private-sector contract ended earlier this year.

Ross Bullerwell, managing director of NY Highways, said preparations for winter were “going very well”.

“The summer restock of salt is underway and we are doing full services of all our existing gritters,” he added.

“It is great to have the investment in these new vehicles. It gives us a very young fleet. This will helps us to ensure that we deliver a successful winter maintenance programme to keep the roads safe and clear for travellers.”

The new gritters have been manufactured by North Yorkshire company Econ.

Built on Mercedes-Benz chassis, they are four-wheel drive to help them cope with the county’s rural landscapes.

The vehicles can be fitted with ploughs if required and are equipped with latest GPS tracking systems. The engines meet latest emission standards.

Andrew Lupton, Econ sales director, said: “We were very pleased to be involved in the extremely comprehensive procurement process, which resulted in some of the highest-specification gritters in the UK being supplied.”

The county council spends between £6m and £10m a year on winter gritting, depending on the severity of the weather. Last winter, gritters completed more than 10,000 runs. Salt accounts for about a third of the operation’s cost.