Council chiefs have given Aberdeenshire residents an assurance their winter roads policy will not be hit despite a seven-figure budget reduction.
The 2015/16 budget has been set at £4.2 million, a reduction of £1m from last year to cover gritting, snow clearing and other work on 3,300 miles of roads and 968 miles of footway.
Processes have been reviewed and amended to ensure consistent and effective practice across the entire region, with its unique geographical challenges.
The authority has said overall labour and plant resources remain untouched, with around 210 council staff and 17 external contractors still at hand to support the winter service.
Around 120 local farmers will also help snow clearing of minor and rural roads, an arrangement often cited as an example of best practice among local authorities.
Salt stocks are also unaffected, with around 30,000 tonnes in storage at locations across Aberdeenshire.
Supplies are topped-up during the winter depending on usage and the council typically uses around 45,000 tonnes of salt each winter.
The roads service will, however, only carry out emergency action between 10pm and 5.30am at the request of Police Scotland. This will normally be in support of their response to “blue light” emergencies.
Aberdeenshire’s primary road network will continue to be treated on a preventative basis, with gritters and ploughs sent out from 5.30am and 3pm each day when forecast conditions indicate the need.
The chairman of the council’s infrastructure services committee, David Aitchison, said: “The council is introducing minor amendments to the winter service to establish a clearer understanding of when gritting should take place on non-primary roads and footways. In other words, we are trying to avoid the situation where we are gritting roads and footways when a natural thaw is imminent.
“It is important to stress that the council’s winter policy, to reduce as far as possible the effects of adverse weather on the safe movement of people and vehicles in Aberdeenshire, has not changed. Rather, we are bringing our practices better in line with policy.”
Vice-chairman Stephen Smith said: “These minor changes have been in effect since November, and will be discussed at area committees in January.
“We are the second largest roads authority in Scotland and as such we have to manage expectations in terms of what’s possible within our available budget.
“To help explain to residents our winter service policy and procedure following the recent changes, we have created a frequently asked questions resource which is available on our website.”