Concerns raised by residents about roads being missed during gritting earlier this week have now been linked to a previously proposed plan to reduce the number of roads included in Bedford Borough’s winter gritting routes.
As reported by the Bedford Independent yesterday, Bedfordians across the Borough complained that a number of roads had not been gritted despite freezing conditions, prompting questions over whether services were falling short of expectations.
It has since emerged that a Conservative executive proposal last autumn suggested reducing the number of gritting routes from nine to eight, with 141 roads listed for removal.
The proposals were discussed at the Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 25 September 2025, and received strong pushback from committee members.
The proposals were further lambasted at the following Full Council meeting on 8 October.
The plans outlined a revised network of eight routes, split between Bedford town and rural areas, with Priority One routes covering the busiest roads and Priority Two routes only treated during severe weather.
Not approved
While officers said the changes would improve efficiency and maintain similar overall coverage, councillors raised concerns about safety, communication with ward members, and whether gritting provision was keeping pace with new housing across the borough.
The proposed reductions were ultimately not approved.
Liberal Democrat councillors say that despite the decision to reverse the cuts, some roads previously earmarked for removal were still missed earlier this week. The council says this was purely down to errors in the routing software used by gritting vehicles.
Roads affected included Arundel Drive in Putnoe, Lovell Road in Kingsbrook and parts of the Black Tom area.
Leader of Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats, Cllr Henry Vann, said: “We have now had to step in twice to save these roads from being axed from vital gritting routes.
“It was obvious at the start of this week that roads that should have been gritted were being missed right across Bedford Borough, and we challenged this straight away.
“We are very grateful for the hard work of the gritting crews at anti-social hours and to officers who quickly responded to our concerns. However, residents have been let down by the routes being wrongly changed and many roads being excluded.
“The root of this problem was the original plan from the Conservatives to cut the 141 roads and then the bodged reinstatement of the previous routes.”
When asked about the missed roads, a council spokesperson denied that a conscious decision had been made to remove any roads from gritting routes.
“No gritting routes have changed. An option was put forward suggesting some changes, but this was strongly rejected, so the gritting routes remain the same as in the previous year, 2024/25,” they told the Bedford Independent.
“We are aware that due to a technical issue with the software, a couple of minor roads failed to upload fully into the gritting vehicles.
“Once this was highlighted, the workforce quickly rectified the matter, all routes were fully quality checked, and any roads missed were then gritted. We would like to thank council staff involved in delivering this vital service in bitterly cold and unsociable hours.”
Yellow weather warning
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning, the lowest level, for ice and snow across many parts of the UK, including Bedford Borough.
While a yellow warning of Ice for Wednesday has been issued, Storm Goretti has also prompted a yellow warning of rain, snow and strong winds from Thursday evening until midday on Friday.
The Met Office says that while the storm’s impact is rated ‘medium’, its likelihood of impact is ‘low’.
