Soft Services

Gritting & Snow Clearance

Car parks, access routes, footpaths and entrances gritted before your site opens, whenever the forecast says 2°C or below. Every visit is logged, so you can show it was done.

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In short

Airwaves Facilities Management provides commercial gritting and snow clearance across the UK. We grit car parks, access routes, footpaths and entrances whenever the forecast air temperature is 2°C or below, treating sites before they open, and log every visit with the time, photos, the areas treated and a sign-off. Last winter we gritted 145 sites in a single night.

Information on gritting and snow clearance

What we grit and clear

The surfaces people walk and drive on, treated before they arrive.

Car Parks

Bays, aisles and the walking routes between them, where cars and people cross the same frozen surface.

Access Routes

The private roads and routes into and around the site, so staff can get in and deliveries can get through.

Footpaths & Entrances

The paths and building entrances everyone on foot has to use. HSE guidance names building entrances, car parks and pedestrian walkways among the places to focus on.

Grit Bins

Supplied, put where they are needed and kept topped up, so there is salt to hand between visits.

Snow Clearance

Usually by machine, and by hand in tighter areas a machine cannot get into. Cleared snow is either taken off site or piled up to melt.

How it works

How winter cover runs

We agree the areas before the contract starts

We recommend which car parks, routes, paths and entrances should be treated. You decide, and it is all agreed and written into your specification before the contract starts.
The forecast decides

On a gritting contract, your site is gritted whenever the forecast air temperature is 2°C or below. Nobody has to ring us.
We treat before you open

As standard, runs go out early so the site is treated before staff and visitors arrive. HSE guidance recommends gritting early in the evening before the frost settles, or early in the morning before people arrive.
We spread what your specification says

White rock salt, brown rock salt or treated salt, from the 50 pallets we keep in stock at our base in Berkswell.
Every visit is logged

The time, photos, the areas treated and a sign-off, every time. It is the record you will want if someone slips and you need to show the site was treated, and when.

Included as standard

Gritting whenever the forecast air temperature is 2°C or below
Treatment before the site opens
Salt to your specification
Grit bins supplied and kept topped up
Snow clearance by machine, and by hand where a machine cannot reach
A record of every visit: time, photos, areas treated, sign-off

As a Property Manager, you always need to rely on good contractors. Airwaves Facilities Management provide all the services I need to manage my buildings. They are a pleasure to work with!

Monsoon Foods

Why choose us

Why us for gritting and snow clearance?

The first frosty morning is the wrong time to find out who grits your car park.

145 sites in one night

Last winter we gritted 145 sites in a single night. That is the capacity behind your site when the temperature drops.
Hospitals, stations and HS2

We grit hospitals, railway stations, police and fire stations, universities, Merry Hill shopping centre, and Tesla, Amazon and HS2 sites. Places where people arrive early and in numbers.
Salt already in stock

We keep 50 pallets at our base in Berkswell, and spread whichever salt your specification calls for.
A record you can produce

Every visit is logged with the time, photos, the areas treated and a sign-off. If a slip turns into a claim, that log shows what was done and when.
One contract with your grounds

Gritting can sit on the same contract as your grounds maintenance, with one point of contact all year. Contracts that stop in November leave a site uncovered through the months when it is most dangerous.
Over 50 people, since 2017

Airwaves has been trading since March 2017 and the team is now more than fifty strong. Big enough to cover a national portfolio, small enough that you are not passed between account managers.

Gallery

Take a look at some pictures of our work.

Tractor with a snow plough clearing the road outside an Amazon warehouse at night

Tractor with a front-mounted snow plough clearing a car park in falling snow

Car park spread with rock salt on a frosty morning, with the team and van behind

Airwaves van and a tractor in a snow-covered car park at night

Snow plough tractor working through a large car park at night

Airwaves van and a tractor at a building entrance after snowfall

Before you enquire

Gritting & Snow Clearance: your questions answered

Who is responsible for gritting a car park?

Usually whoever occupies and controls it. No law says in so many words that a business must grit, but occupiers owe visitors a duty of reasonable care and employers must keep access routes safe for staff. When frost is forecast, gritting is how most sites meet those duties. Our article "Do businesses have to grit their car park?" sets out the law in full.

Does the council grit outside our site?

The council is responsible for the public road and pavement outside, under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Your car park, private roads, paths and entrances are yours to treat.

When do you grit?

Airwaves grits whenever the forecast air temperature is 2°C or below. As standard, we treat the site before it opens, so it is safe by the time people arrive.

What do you spread, and do you supply grit bins?

Whatever your specification calls for: white rock salt, brown rock salt or treated salt. Airwaves keeps 50 pallets in stock at its base in Berkswell. We also supply grit bins, put them where they are needed and keep them topped up.

What do you record on each visit?

The time, photos, the areas treated and a sign-off, on every visit. It is the record you will want if someone slips and you need to show the site was treated, and when.

How do you clear snow?

Usually by machine, and by hand in tighter areas a machine cannot get into. Cleared snow is either taken off site or piled up to melt.

What kinds of site do you grit?

Hospitals, railway stations, police and fire stations, universities, shopping centres including Merry Hill, and commercial and industrial sites including Tesla, Amazon and HS2. Last winter we gritted 145 sites in a single night.

Can we have gritting without a grounds contract?

Yes. Gritting and snow clearance can be contracted on their own for the winter, or added to a grounds maintenance contract so one team covers the site all year.

How is gritting priced?

Either as a fixed fee for the season or as a price per visit, whichever suits the site. We price each site from the areas agreed in your specification. Send us the address and what you need treated, and we will come back with a quote.

When should we arrange winter cover?

Before the first frost. Contracts usually run for a set winter season, and the areas, the specification and the dates are all agreed before the contract starts. That is easier to do in October than on an icy morning.

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Where we cover

Our service area

We grit and clear sites across the UK, from our base at Berkswell, CV7 7SL, where our salt stock is held. If you have property in more than one region, one contract covers all of it.