Winter ground maintenance since 2009
Commercial gritting and snow clearance for sites of every size, planned around your site and delivered outside working hours so nothing stops when the temperature drops.
Safecontractor accredited · De-icing salt to BS 3247
Sites we grit for
About us
We are an established company specialising in winter ground maintenance. We have been gritting for over 15 years from our base in Haywards Heath, and our coverage runs the length of the Sussex and Hampshire coast, from Chichester and Portsmouth through to Eastbourne and Hastings, plus Crawley, Horsham, Redhill and South London.
Throughout the winter season EFP Gritting Ltd operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We build tailor made gritting programmes using specialist spreading equipment designed for both large and small premises, and we work outside office hours so your working day is never disrupted.
Gritting services
We focus on the regions we can genuinely reach in time, rather than claiming national coverage. That is what keeps our response reliable at 3am in February.
Push along hand spreaders, 4x4 trailed spreaders, 7.5 tonne gritting lorries and an 18 tonne lorry.
Guaranteed supply and stocks of de-icing salt to BS 3247. Clean, pure white salt that minimises residue clean up after gritting.
A range of corrosion and environment sensitive salt alternatives, with experience spreading at least four other products.
Vehicles fitted with pre-wetting equipment, reducing the environmental impact of gritting your premises.
Every lorry is tracked and monitored. Site specific visit data is available to you through our GPS tracking system.
Weather information and intelligence through Meteo Group, as used by local authorities, councils and highways departments.
Snow clearance
Snow clearance is a critical and often overlooked part of any winter maintenance service. Ours is resourced to match the gritting operation, not bolted on after it.
Our practices
We monitor conditions and forecasts from several sources. The decision to go out is based on predicted temperatures for your area, and above all on road surface temperature, which can sit 5 to 7 degrees below air temperature.
Salt is ideally spread before surfaces become icy or snow begins to fall. This is known as precautionary salting. Once sub zero temperatures are forecast, we spread ahead of the temperature fall and the freezing conditions that follow.
Preventing ice from forming is far better practice than treating ice or snow that has already settled.
The recommended guidelines are roughly 10 to 15 g/m² for precautionary salting, and 20 to 40 g/m² during ice and snow conditions. Rates vary in practice, because we evaluate every visit on a needs basis.
Salt lowers the freezing point of moisture on the surface, stopping ice forming and causing existing ice or snow to melt. It does not work instantly: it needs to be ground down by foot or vehicle traffic before it activates, which takes far longer on pedestrian areas than on roads. That is why we help the process along with specialist hand tools and spreaders.
On dry surfaces you may notice a white appearance caused by the salt, which soon disappears. Residual salt attracts moisture and can leave a damp look to the surface. This is perfectly normal, and the salt should stop that moisture freezing.
There is no such thing as an absolutely safe surface. What we can promise is that we will do our absolute best to minimise the risk, and record everything we do on your site so you can evidence it.
Road surface temperature is estimated here at 6°C below air temperature, the midpoint of the 5 to 7 degree difference we work to. Live decisions use Meteo Group forecast data for your postcode.
Cost estimate
Enter the area you need treating and we will show an indicative cost per visit: a flat £65 for sites under 4,000m², a per square metre rate from 4,001 to 12,000m², and larger sites are quoted individually. Send it over and we will confirm a fixed price for your site.
A typical south coast winter needs 10 to 20 precautionary visits. Inland and higher-ground sites away from the coast usually need more.
Salt used per visit: about 9 kg at the selected spread rate.
Send this estimate to usIndicative figures for demonstration only. Final pricing depends on site layout, access, surface type and the response time you need, and is confirmed after a free site survey.
Areas covered
One base in Haywards Heath, with fleet and crews covering the Sussex and Hampshire coast, so response times stay short across the network.
Schematic, not to scale — routes radiate from our Haywards Heath base to sites across Sussex, Surrey, south London and Hampshire.
The law
Any occupier of a commercial property is required, under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 12 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, to assess risks and take measures protecting employees and customers from the hazard icy conditions present. Failing to do so can lead to criminal prosecution and exposure to litigation from any injured party who slips on your grounds.
of slips and trips in a 2005 HSE study happened in snow or ice, mainly attributed to inadequate maintenance.
Slip and trip accidents increase during the winter season as the cold weather spells cause ice and snow to build up on paths. There are effective actions that you can take to reduce the risk of a slip or trip. Regardless of the size of your site, always ensure that regularly used walkways are promptly tackled. Health and Safety Executive
Employers have to ensure their employees and anyone else who could be affected by their work are kept safe from harm and that their health is not affected. This means slip and trip risks must be controlled to ensure people do not slip, trip and fall. Health and Safety Executive
In the press
Manor Royal BID on how their business park stays open when the weather turns.
Contact us
Tell us about your site and we will come back with a fixed price gritting programme, usually within one working day.
3 Holmsted Farm Bungalows,
Staplefield Road, Haywards Heath,
West Sussex RH17 6QU