Help us name Sheffield's gritters

People in Sheffield are being asked to help choose names for the city’s fleet of gritters but with a local twist, as preparations for the upcoming winter season get underway.

There are 19 gritters in the Streets Ahead fleet with 12 gritters waiting to be named by members of the public while local school children are being invited to name the other five. The two smaller gritters in the fleet are not included in the competition.

While names such as Spready Mercury and Gritney Spears have proved to be popular, this competition is asking people to submit names which have a Sheffield theme.

Entries will go before a judging panel and those who have submitted the most creative names will be invited to Amey Ltd’s Olive Grove depot later in the year to meet the gritter bearing its new name.

The winter season officially starts on 1 October when gritting crews will be on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to weather alerts including freezing temperatures and forecasts for ice and snow.

Councillor Joe Otten, chair of Sheffield City Council’s Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee said:

“We want our gritters to reflect our city so draw inspiration from the heroes, legends, festivals or places that are unique to Sheffield.

“So, I’m asking people to get their thinking caps on and come up with some clever and imaginative names.”

Competition entries of no more than 4 words (or 25 characters including spaces) must be emailed to GritterNamingCompetition@amey.co.uk with the words ‘gritter naming competition’ in the subject field.

The competition closes on Friday 11 October 2024 and winners will be notified by email by the end of October.

For further information about the competition and to read the terms and conditions go to https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/campaigns/winter-information

Further information on the Streets Ahead winter programme can be found at https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/campaigns/winter-information