North Yorkshire Council to station mini tractors in Scarborough to tackle snow
Mini tractors are set to be stationed in Scarborough this winter as part of a new scheme by North Yorkshire Council to clear areas worst affected by snow.
Scarborough will serve as a main stationing hub alongside Harrogate and Richmond, with the vehicles aiming to boost county-wide resilience against challenging conditions.
For most of the year, the compact red machines will be used by North Yorkshire Council’s parks team for tasks such as hedge trimming, maintaining flowerbeds and carrying supplies.
When severe weather hits, the machines will then be fitted with snow-clearing attachments to support winter maintenance teams in town centre areas inaccessible to standard gritters.
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, executive member for highways and transport, said: “Keeping the county moving throughout the year is a key priority, and we are always looking at ways to strengthen our advanced winter maintenance fleet.
“By investing in these new, versatile mini tractors, we are maximising their use throughout the year and enhancing our response to severe weather.
“As the winter gets into full swing, we are reminding road users to take extra care when travelling and check weather conditions before setting off.”
The council’s winter maintenance network covers over 2,700 miles of road, attended to by 70 gritters, 100 farming contractors, with several snowploughs and snowblowers also available.
As well as this, around 50,000 tonnes of salt is in storage with about 5,000 salt bins and heaps across the county.
The Council states that gritting crews will be on call 24 hours a day throughout the winter season.
Visit www.northyorks.gov.uk/winter-maintenance-policy for live updates on gritter locations and priority routes.