Southenders asked to ‘salt’ out names for gritters

February 3, 2020 by Southend Borough Council

Every night when the road surface temperatures drop down below freezing, the Veolia gritting teams in Southend are working hard to make sure our roads and pavements are safe in the morning.

They start working around 7pm in the evening for four to five hours, spreading salt on the main roads. A quad bike covers areas that are trickier to reach but important to cover like the surroundings of the hospital.

Andy, Dave and all the team need your help finding a fitting name for the gritters. Take part in our competition to name the gritters and be in with a chance of winning a miniature gritter or a voucher worth £50. Each winning name will be painted onto a gritter in February 2020 and the winning entrant will have the opportunity to have their photo with the gritter they’ve named. The winning entry will be selected via a shortlist and final public poll on Twitter.

Entrants must supply their name, email address, address within the Borough and gritter name suggestion via this form or by emailing uk.southend-recycling@veolia.com by Tuesday 4 February. Only one entry per person is allowed. The data will only be used for the purposes of this competition and will not be sold or shared for any purpose other than this competition. In the case of multiple entries of the same name, the award will go to the first entry recorded as received. If you are under the age of 18, you must obtain written parental or guardian consent to enter and claim your prize. Please read our privacy notice and terms and conditions in full before entering.

Carole Mulroney, cabinet member for environment and planning said, “We owe a lot to the teams who grit our roads in the night to keep us safe, out in freezing conditions while we sleep. With over 200 miles of roads to grit, the team show a lot of grit and determination.

“We have two smaller gritting vehicles that each carries five tonnes of grit, and a larger vehicle that spreads 12 tonnes. We’d like to give them each a name and are asking the public to let loose their imaginations and give us some appropriate suggestions. The best will be short listed for a public vote.”

Submit your suggestion here