Aberdeen City Council’s spending on winter roads maintenance for 2013/14 was more than £400,000 under a budget of almost £2million.
The savings have been largely attributed to the mild weather, which meant less salt was needed to treat routes.
Figures supplied in a report to the authority’s enterprise, planning and infrastructure committee show workers used about 11,000 tonnes less than the average level.
This fall accounted for the majority of the underspend – about £343,000. The remainder was put down to reduced labour costs due to a drop in required working hours.
Spending has fluctuated in recent years. The council went over budget significantly during the harsh winters in 2010/11 and 2011/12, by almost £697,000 and £604,000 respectively.
The report says temperatures were at or below freezing on 69 nights throughout the last winter.
The lowest road surface temperatures recorded were -5C, which compared to -8C last year.
The council had 3,743 tonnes of salt in stock at the beginning of April 2013, and took delivery of 10,616 tonnes during the year.
At the end of the winter period, there were still 8,399 tonnes remaining.
A council scheme to offer “community” salt bags to those residents who made requests was successful, with 89 tonnes of salt issued.
However, the report points out that expectations from members of the public had still to be managed.
It states: “With over 1,200km of footways it was not feasible to have widespread coverage as anticipated by many members of the public.
“With a further 480km of remote paths and areas within our council housing estates requiring treatment, the widespread expectation of ‘black’ footpaths and car parks is not achievable in the worst winter conditions.”
At a meeting on Tuesday, June 3, councillors will be asked to note the report, and instruct officers to continue reporting back and do more “benchmarking” with other local authorities in Scotland.
