Ice rarely gives you a polite warning. One cold night, a wet patch turns into a skating rink, and suddenly you have staff, customers, or tenants walking into a real risk. That is why proactive gritting in Shropshire matters. It tackles the conditions before ice bonds to the surface, which is when problems start. HSE+1
At CW Services Shropshire Ltd, we focus on prevention. It keeps car parks, footpaths, access roads, and loading areas safer, and it helps you stay operational through winter when access to essential services still has to happen.
Why proactive gritting beats reactive gritting
Once ice has formed, you are already behind. You can still treat it, but you often need more salt, more time, and more effort to bring the surface back under control.
Proactive gritting works better because it:
- Lowers the freezing point of water before it turns to ice
- Helps stop frost bonding to the surface
- Reduces the chance of early morning slip incidents when sites first open HSE+1
Slips outside are still workplace risks
A lot of serious slip accidents happen outside, not inside. Entrances, walkways, car parks, and yards are obvious danger spots in cold weather. HSE guidance is clear that slips and trips are a major cause of workplace injury, and prevention is about identifying hazards and taking sensible control measures. HSE+2HSE+2
For businesses and landlords, good winter maintenance is part of taking reasonable precautions, especially where the public or staff are using your grounds.
Timing matters more than people think
Here’s the thing. Air temperature is not the whole story. Gritting decisions are often based on road surface temperature forecasts, because surfaces can freeze even when the air temperature looks safe. Met Office
That is why a planned approach wins. You grit when forecasts show a freeze risk, not when you spot ice after the fact.
Areas that should be prioritised first
If you are deciding where to focus, start with the places where a slip would be most likely and most serious:
- Main entrances and footpaths
- Disabled bays and drop off points
- Steps, ramps, and sloped areas
- Car parks, service yards, and bin store routes
- Loading bays and delivery routes
This is also where proactive gritting has the biggest impact on keeping your site usable.
What a sensible gritting plan looks like
A proper plan does not need to be complicated. It just needs to be consistent.
A good winter gritting routine usually includes:
- A pre winter site review to identify high risk zones
- A trigger based approach using forecast conditions and site priorities Met Office+1
- Clear responsibility for who authorises gritting and when
- A log of visits and treatments, especially for commercial sites
If you manage multiple properties, this kind of structure stops winter becoming a daily scramble.
The common mistakes that cause ice problems
We see the same issues every year:
- Waiting until the morning, when ice is already set
- Treating only the driveway, while the footpath stays dangerous
- Storing grit badly so it clumps and spreads poorly
- Forgetting shaded spots that refreeze first
Proactive gritting avoids most of this by treating the whole access route, not just the obvious bit.
How CW Services Shropshire Ltd can help
We provide proactive gritting in Shropshire for car parks, commercial grounds, private roads, and managed sites. The goal is simple: keep your site safer, keep access open, and reduce disruption through winter.
If you want a reliable plan for the season rather than ad hoc callouts, we can set that up.