Schools in Burley Woodhead and Steeton are among five schools from across the Bradford district who have been involved in a project to name five of the 24 gritter wagons used by Bradford Council to keep the roads clear of snow and ice.
Each of the schools, one from each of the five parliamentary constituencies in the district, were tasked with coming up with the name for one of the gritting wagons which will be gritting the streets in their area.
Taking inspiration from X-Factor superstars Little Mix, the children at Burley and Woodhead C of E Primary School, representing Shipley constituency, went for the name Grittle Mix.
Steeton Primary School (picture below) representing the Keighley and Ilkley constituency were inspired by the children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, by selecting Gritty Gritty Bang Bang.
Pupils at Thackley Primary School representing Bradford East, came up with the name Clearopathra with a nod to the ancient Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra.
Dixons Primary School pupils, representing Bradford West, went for the name Glittery Ice Machine for the new electric gritter, which is being trialled in their area. The 100% electric gritter which is leased from Yorkshire-based Econ Engineering, is funded from Clean Air Zone revenue so is offering a saving to the Council base budget. The electric gritter will be integrated into the fleet based at Wakefield Road Depot, and will be treating roads in Little Horton, Great Horton, Wibsey, Woodside and the city centre.
The school representing Bradford South, Southfield Co-Op Academy drew on the cultural heritage of the district and chose Wuthering Ice as the name, referencing author Emily Bronte’s classic novel Wuthering Heights, which is set on the windswept moors around Haworth.
Pupils at each of the schools got to see a gritter wagon up close when the council’s Highways staff took them into their school’s car park, some of the pupils were lucky enough to be able to climb inside the cab. The Lord Mayor of Bradford was able to also visit some of the schools. The pupils taking part also got to find out about the councils gritting operation, got a board with their gritter name on it and a certificate for choosing the name.
It’s the first time that gritters operating in the Bradford district have been named and it’s hoped that five more names can be added to the fleet next year.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport said:
“Our gritter drivers grit over 700 miles of roads between them across our Priority One Routes, this is over 62% of the whole road network in the district. I’d like to thank the children from these five schools for coming up such imaginative names. I hope they’ve enjoyed taking part and finding out about our gritting operation, and if they see the gritter that they’ve named or any of the other gritters out and about, I hope they give the driver a wave, as they really do work hard, often working around the clock or sacrificing time with their loved ones, to ensure that our roads are gritted.”
Information about gritting including a map showing the gritting routes in the Bradford district, along with advice for driving in winter can be found on Bradford Council's website at www.bradford.gov.uk/winter
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