No matter how much you try to explain matters this is still one of the most confusing three words when it comes to property management although it seems to get plenty of mentions this time of year with snow on the ground.
Each development and property manager will have their own way with dealing with ice and snow as does each local authority and county. In Essex the mains roads are gritted but the side roads are not that is the Essex County Council's policy. Drivers therefore take care when driving on side roads and treat main roads as they would the rest of the year.
Our advice with regards to gritting pathways and car parks is to leave well alone, not because we want our residents tripping up and getting their cars stuck in the car park but because there is less chance of an accident if you leave it on the ground.
Why?
Residents know it's there and therefore take care when walking on pathway, stepping off of entrance steps and manoeuvring their vehicle in and out of the car park.
If you were to grit the areas you would have to make sure that you never missed an area as residents would treat the pathways, steps and car park as they usually would and therefore any missed icy area and they slip.
The management company would then be deemed to not have cleared the snow properly and could face potential damages claims and the fact that the rest of the development was ice and snow free is irrelevant.
With any aspect of Health and Safety you have to look outside the box and at the bigger picture.
