County council to review winter road servicing

Powys County Council's Cabinet is set to consider proposals to review the way the county's roads are serviced during winter months at its upcoming meeting on 28 March 2023.

The network of roads in Powys spans more than 5,500 km and is made up of county roads maintained by the council and trunk roads maintained by North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency (NMWTRA) on behalf of the Welsh Government.

Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys, said that the current winter service programme has evolved at a local level and needs to be reviewed against national code of practices and the current needs of the county. The decision to review the current programme was taken in October 2019, and new proposals will be considered by the Cabinet.

The review will use guidance from the National Winter Service Research Group and the Well-managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice to categorise all Powys roads using a risk and evidence-based approach. Factors such as traffic volume, public transport links, amenities, and essential services such as schools, medical centres, and the location of emergency services will be considered for each road.

The proposed categories will then be used to create a set of winter service routes for the entire county using an open, consistent, and fair approach that provides equitable service for all of Powys.

If approved, the proposals will be subject to an online public engagement exercise to ensure that the final criteria are applied fairly across the whole county. Further details on the proposals and the public engagement exercise will be made available soon.