The Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Panel of Kirklees Council met on Wednesday 08 October 2025 to discuss the Snow Warden Scheme and the Panel's work programme for the coming year. The meeting was scheduled to include an update on the Snow Warden Scheme, and a review of the Panel's work programme for 2025/26.

Snow Warden Scheme Update

The Panel was scheduled to receive a presentation on the Snow Warden Scheme. The scheme, which began as a two-year pilot project in winter 2021, encourages volunteers to clear pavements in their communities, helping pedestrians stay connected to main routes and assisting local facilities such as religious centres, doctor surgeries and nurseries in keeping safe access during winter conditions. Volunteers are provided with a snow shovel, hand scoop, grit, and a high-visibility jacket/vest to carry out gritting in their local area.

The report pack included data on the growth of the scheme, noting that it grew sharply in 2024/25 due to multiple weather events, alongside the introduction of community groups. It also noted that there were 37 snow wardens already on a wait list to join the scheme in 2025/26.

The report pack also detailed issues encountered during the 2024/25 season, including:

• Reduced management resource
• Delays to replenishing snow warden grit following severe weather events
• Some snow wardens did not receive full kits for weeks following their sign up, due to resourcing deliveries

Volunteer feedback was also included in the report pack. 64% of participants said they were happy with the equipment provided, but some had experienced problems with their shovels, and some would have preferred a grit sprinkler instead of a hand shovel. 85% of volunteers indicated willingness to collect grit or supplies from local pick-up locations at the start of the season or for mid-season restocking. 89% of volunteers felt confident about when to apply grit, but 71% of volunteers mentioned they did not have sufficient grit, and 32% of volunteers experienced difficulties storing the grit they received.

Additional feedback from volunteers included:

• In areas or streets with multiple snow warden volunteers, having centralised storage and coordination would be helpful, potentially managed via social media platforms.
• For streets that already have snow wardens, additional residents should be encouraged to join and assist through targeted comms.
• The re-supply of grit after the January weather event was considered too slow.
• Although communication with the team was generally seen as positive, it experienced delays during the January snowfall.

The report pack stated that guidance for snow wardens is reviewed and updated annually, and that the 2025/26 guidance would include further information about the appropriate amount of grit that is required. It stated that 10kg of grit should be able to cover around 250m of footpath (500sqm in total).

Changes for the new season included:

• Additional stock of shovels will be ordered to ensure replacements can be provided promptly.
• Residents will have the option to receive an extra bag of grit when they sign up or during replenishments.
• A hybrid model combining collection and delivery will be adopted. Specific delivery slots have been allocated for new volunteers, with separate slots designated for restocking. Both highway depots will serve as collection points on a slot basis, offering one weekday and one weekend day each. Additional collection points within the district are currently being identified.
• Collection points will operate at intervals yet to be confirmed throughout the season, alongside increased capacity for grit restocking deliveries.

The sign up window for the 2025/26 season was scheduled to open on October 15 through snow.wardens@kirklees.gov.uk. To allow for a more managed approach to the scheme new volunteer numbers will be capped at 100 new snow warden volunteers initially. Once this cap is hit the service will review resource supporting the scheme and may open it again. Schools and nurseries will now be able to sign up to receive kits to support access to the school gates. The scheme will have 30 delivery slots for new kits on a first come first serve basis, and collection slots to operate up to 80 new kit collections within the district, alongside grit collection for existing wardens. Collection points will reopen following severe weather events if required.

Work Programme 2025/26

The Panel was scheduled to consider its Work Programme for 2025/26. The work programme included the following items:

• Simpler Recycling and Split Collections
• Snow Wardens Scheme Update
• Fly tipping and Litter Pact
• Waste Strategy Update
• Annual Update on Flood Risk
• Air Quality Update
• Pollution Update
• Lane Rental Update
• Moving traffic offences
• Parks and Green spaces Update
• Huddersfield District Heat Network¹

The Panel was also scheduled to consider the following themes throughout its programme of work:

• Climate Impact
• Risks and Opportunities
• Partnership work, links to other opportunities and engagement
• Communications