‘Lacks common sense’: Swann urges review of grit box rules following snow and ice

South Antrim MP Robin Swann has called on the Infrastructure Minister to review the Department for Infrastructure’s (DfI) Roads policy on grit provision, warning that the current approach risks undermining community efforts to improve safety during winter weather.

The intervention follows recent snow and icy conditions, during which many communities relied heavily on grit to help keep roads and footways passable.

Mr Swann said residents have expressed a willingness to take practical steps to improve safety but are being held back by what he described as an inflexible policy.

Under existing arrangements, DfI Roads only provides official grit boxes in limited circumstances, where strict criteria are met, including road gradient and location. In other areas deemed by DfI to be “strategic locations”, grit is instead delivered in open piles.

However, Mr Swann highlighted an anomaly in the policy which he says defies common sense. If a community group were to purchase and install a grit box at one of these strategic locations, Roads Service would not place grit inside it. Instead, grit would continue to be deposited in an open pile beside the community-owned box.

Speaking on the issue, Robin Swann MP said:

“During the recent snow and ice, communities again relied heavily on grit to help keep roads and walkways safe. Local residents have indicated to me that they would be willing to provide their own grit boxes at existing strategic grit pile locations. Yet current DFI policy would mean that even if a community funds and installs a box, grit would still be left on the ground beside it rather than stored inside.

“That simply lacks common sense. Boxes reduce wastage, protect surrounding grass and hedges, improve accessibility and help residents use grit more safely. Importantly, this change would involve no extra cost or resource for the Roads Service, as the grit is already being delivered to these same locations.”

Mr Swann said the issue highlights a disconnect between departmental policy and the practical realities faced by local communities during periods of severe winter weather.

He confirmed that he has written directly to the Infrastructure Minister seeking a review of the policy, urging a more flexible approach that would support, rather than discourage, community-led efforts to improve safety.

The call comes amid wider public debate over winter preparedness and the role of communities in supporting overstretched public services during extreme weather conditions.