GRITTING Bolton’s roads during the snowy winter could end up costing the borough more than £1million — which is about £930,000 more than expected.

A quarterly spending report to Cllr Ismail Ibrahim, Bolton Council’s executive member for environmental services, has showed the gritting operations will have cost £931,000 more than first budgeted for.

It is estimated that 150 gritting operations will have been carried out by the end of the official winter season next month, compared with 119 in the previous winter.

The overspend means that environmental chiefs will have to use money from the department’s reserves to balance the books.

Tory Cllr John Walsh, who was the chairman of a special winter gritting scrutiny committee last year, said: “We have had two bad winters and need to have a fresh look at the policy and contingencies.

“The service was not good enough this year but I am convinced that there would have been more gaps if the the committee had not passed its recommendations last year.”

The committee made a number of recommendations last year, including increasing the minimum stockpile of grit kept by the council to 2,000 tonnes.

Gritting wagons were out running for 24 hours a day during the worst two weeks at the beginning of January, spreading between 50 and 150 tonnes of salt per day across the borough’s 320-mile main road network.

Cllr Walsh, who will again chair the committee, believes its task for this year will be to set a “realistic” budget.

He said: “We have already spread more grit this year than in the whole of last winter and used more man hours than last year.

“These last two winters could be a sign of things to come and we need to have a realistic budget to deal with that eventuality.” A council spokesman said: “Following some of the most severe weather experienced in 30 years, our staff have worked around the clock to keep Bolton moving successfully.

“The winter gritting scrutiny panel will reconvene later this year to review our arrangements. We want to learn any lessons we can from the bad weather.”

To make comments to the committee, email Cllr Walsh at: john.walsh@bolton.gov.uk