Winter Weather and Advice

Bad Weather - Service Disruption

In the event of service disruption due to bad Weather, ESBC will be keeping residents as up to date as possible. You will find school closures, service disruption and gritting information on this page or you can get up to the minute updates by following us on Facebook or Twitter.

Road Gritting in Staffordshire and Derbyshire

The responsibility of road gritting belongs to Staffordshire County Council. Go to their road gritting page for more information.

Grit Bin Locations

Please use the map below to find your nearest grit bin.

Winter Advice

Directgov also has useful advice on preparing for winter.

Keep warm at home

During the day:

• set your thermostat at around 21ºC (70ºF) and heat all the rooms you use in the day
• if you can’t heat all your rooms make sure you keep your living room warm throughout the day and heat your bedroom before going to bed
• set the timer on your heating to come on before you get up and switch off when you go to bed
• in very cold weather, rather than turn the thermostat up, set the heating to come on earlier so you won’t be cold while you wait for your home to heat up.

During the night: 

• try to keep a temperature of above 18°C (65°F) in your bedroom overnight
• if you use a fire or heater in your bedroom during winter, open the window or door a little at night for ventilation
• an electric blanket or a hot water bottle will help you keep warm but never use them together as you could electrocute yourself
• if you have an electric blanket, check what type it is – some are designed only to warm the bed before you get in and should not to be used throughout the night
• if you use an electric blanket make sure it is safe to use by getting it tested every three years. The Fire Brigade, Trading Standards and Age Concern can test your electric blanket for safety.

The Government offers advice on ‘Keep Warm, Keep Well’ at http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/keepwarmkeepwell/index.html

Check your heaters are safe

Carbon monoxide kills more than 50 people each year in England and Wales. Levels that don’t kill can cause serious harm to health if breathed in over a long time. Carbon monoxide is given off by cooking or heating appliances that are incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated. You can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, so the best way to protect yourself is to have all gas and fossil fuel cooking and heating appliances, and flues and chimneys, serviced regularly. The servicing (and any installation) should be done by a registered engineer.

The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, feeling tired and sick, and difficulty in thinking clearly. If you suffer from these symptoms and you think they could be caused by carbon monoxide exposure:

• stop using ALL your cooking and heating appliances
• open the windows in your home
• see your doctor at once
• call a qualified engineer to check all your cooking and heating appliances.

The Energy Saving Trust (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/) has advice about insulation and heating and information on how to register for the UK Government's boiler scrappage scheme which offers a £400 cashback voucher when you scrap your G-rated boiler and replace it with an A-rated boiler or renewable heat technology.

Winter fuel payments

Every household with a resident aged over 60 will be eligible for extra money in winter to help with fuel bills. ESBC has a lot of good information about Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payments at http://www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk/Services/Pages/coldweatherpaymentsfaq.aspx/

Warm Front grants

If you need help paying for heating and insulation improvements in your privately-owned or rented home, you may be able to get money from the government's Warm Front grants scheme if, for example, you're receiving income or disability-related benefits. More information is available at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018661