THE final bill for the major snow clearing and road salting operation earlier in the year could top £600,000.

It has emerged that Oxfordshire County Council is faced with taking £470,000 from its reserves to help cover the cost of combating the heavy snow that blanketed the county over several days.

But County Hall says the extra spending will not affect council tax payers.

The overall cost of keeping the roads clear in late January and early February is being put at between £550,000 and £600,000.

Towards the end of the cold snap in February, gritting was restricted to the most heavily-used roads as salt stocks ran low.

More than 70 per cent of Oxfordshire’s roads were not gritted during one weekend despite freezing conditions, as the county council tried to conserve depleted salt sup-plies to treat key routes.

Hundreds of schools closed and thousands of people were unable to get to work as snow storms hit the county.

The council’s overall highways budget is £14.5m. The £470,000 which will need to be drawn from reserves will ensure the highway budget does not end up in the red this year.

Ian Hudspeth, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “We took a decision very early on that the cost would not come significantly into our decision making.

“We had 24-hour-a-day working on many days in late January and early February and our gritters operated on many nights from the autumn onwards.

“Councils carry reserves precisely for unusual circumstances.

“This has been a very exceptional year in terms of snow and low temperatures, so we have had to dip into our reserves.

“We have no hesitation in doing that, just as we had no hesitation in dipping into those reserves when we had flooding in July 2007.” The council, which is responsible for the upkeep of all roads but the A34 and M40, treated all major routes and A roads, but admitted it had been forced to cut back on some B roads.

A spokesman said: “The temporary restriction had the desired effect of making sure the salt never ran out.

“Further deliveries of salt meant the full service was reinstated by the time cold weather returned briefly at the start of March.”

Cold weather hit the county as early as late October and remained a constant feature throughout the winter months with gritters in operation on many nights.

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