Cpuncillors have agreed to borrow £400,000 to keep salt stocks dry.
Calderdale Cabinet last night agreed to the “prudential borrowing” for a rock salt barn at the council’s Ainleys depot in Elland.
The authority predicts drier salt stocks will save vital grit and save the council thousands in years to come.
It comes as the number of precautionary treatments carried out has risen from 35 a few years ago to 65 to 100 per year.
Clr Barry Collins Cabinet member for the economy and environment, said: “This has been discussed before and it has had cross party support.
“If we use a salt barn we can cover salt which means it is spread more easily and we can reduce how much we need. A reduction and more improved salt spreading service is needed, especially after recent winters.
“It is an obvious case to make, it is a cost effective proposal.”
Covered salt storage facilities, such as salt barns, have been used for over 30 years and are most common in other parts of Europe.
Calderdale Council says there are “clear advantages” to covered salt storage which include:
Dry salt can be spread more quickly and at lower spread rates.
There is a consequent reduction in the amount of salt used.
There is a consequent environmental benefit – less salt finds its way into watercourses.
Loading of machinery is quicker and more efficient.
With drier salt stocks the council could save 33% of salt usage on each round.
Over time they expect to save 42 tonnes of salt for each precautionary treatment, saving £119,700.
The borrowing and interest repayments for the £400,000 land would equate to around £30,000 per annum.
The council says the salt barn could be moved. As part of a wider review of the council’s building stock, the Highways and Engineering service may be re-located to another depot in the future.
The proposed salt barn, a steel-framed structure on a concrete foundation, would have to be dismantled and re-erected at another location if the service was moved.
