A TRANSPORT boss has told councillors that winter road maintenance in York in unexpected bad weather will continue - whatever the cost.

Accountants with City of York Council have been forced to dig deep to find an extra £185,000 for road gritting this winter.

Councillors expressed surprise that the maintenance teams had gone over budget, because they did not believe the winter had been particularly severe.

But Bill Woolley, the council's assistant director (development and transport), said gritters had to prepare for forecasted snow that did not fall, wet weather which required extra salt, and several deep penetrating frosts.

He said: "We always grit on the basis of the policy of this council- the safe passage of traffic across the city.

"That is the approach we always take to gritting.

"The money factor is never weighed up when we take the decision whether to grit or not."

Councillor Ken King said: "People say to me that they don't remember it being a bad winter, but the trick is getting the budget set right in the first place."

Gritting teams hit the roads 75 times this winter, five times fewer than predicted. Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing said some roads had been "treacherous".

Updated: 10:41 Thursday, April 08, 2004