ROAD chiefs have given the green light to a new gritting lorry to help keep Bournemouth on the move the next time a harsh winter strikes.

Several periods of heavy snowfall in recent years have all but brought Dorset to a halt, with gritters working around the clock to try to keep roads clear.

Now, council chiefs have given the go-ahead to spending £89,000 on a refurbished vehicle.

After the winter of 2010/11, transport bosses decided that adding to the fleet would “significantly reduce treatment times”, a report to the council’s cabinet yesterday said.

As well as being able to spread grit on iced roads, the lorry will also be able to be used at other times of the year, for things like emergency road closures, litter picking, gully cleansing and sign cleaning.

Larry Austin, strategic operations manager at Bournemouth Borough Council, said after the decision: “This extra gritter enhances the excellent winter services we already offer, but will also play a wider year-round role in increasing safety on our roads.

“As well as being a welcome addition to our fleet of gritters, it has the added benefit of incorporating an impact protection unit and can therefore be used to indicate road or lane closures during emergencies, roadworks or cleaning, saving the borough up to £30,000 in traffic management costs.”

The council said it hoped the new gritter would be in place in time for this winter.