Aberdeenshire Council maintains over 3367 miles of roads and over 932 miles of footway. This year four new 4×4 gritters have been added to the fleet, staff rotas have been drawn up and the winter maintenance operations room is ready to go.

 Of course Aberdeenshire Council cannot deliver the service single-handedly. Cllr Gurudeo Saluja told me that they are supported by a highly reliable team of local farmers and contractors who play an important role in the overall maintenance strategy and that they are ready for snow-clearing action across the local area.

 I spoke to Skene farmer, Graeme Phillips who has been on stand-by each winter for over 20 years to ensure that roads are kept clear of snow. He can be out from as early as 5.30 in the morning to ensure roads are cleared to enable residents to get out and about. Graeme says  “The system works very well, I usually get a phone call from the Roads Department the night before if the weather turns bad. I work in a team with other local farmers and we keep in contact with each other throughout the operation to make sure all areas in our patch are covered”.