Overcoming Winter: How Grounds Maintenance Can Help

Winter is in full force, and while we may be looking eagerly ahead to spring, there’s no avoiding the current conditions it’s subjecting us to. In Scotland, these conditions are especially harsh; with temperatures dropping below zero, snow in the air, ice on the roads and strong winds, it’s important to be adequately prepared for the challenges of the great Scottish winter weather.

Whilst these conditions can’t be controlled, that doesn’t mean your business has to be affected. There are certain things that can be done to tackle the consequences of winter weather, so that your business can continue to operate efficiently with little to no downtime. Read on as we discuss how you can overcome winter with the help of commercial grounds maintenance services.

The Challenges of Winter Conditions in Scotland

Being located at the very north of the UK, Scotland often tends to be subject to the harshest of its weather, particularly in the winter. Due to our country’s position, we regularly receive depressions (low pressure) moving eastward from the Atlantic ocean, which build strong winds and clouds that Scotland unfortunately takes the brunt of - Scotland is even named the windiest country in Europe because of this!

Again this is also why, along with the hilly terrain of the highlands, Scotland tends to experience colder temperatures than the rest of the UK and experience more snowfall. All of these conditions bring with them their own sets of challenges that can inconvenience everyday life.

Snow

Living in Scotland, snow isn’t an uncommon sight - especially the further up north the country you go. While it’s a pretty sight, when it settles on the ground, snow can prove to be a large nuisance on the roads.

Not only can it cause unsafe driving conditions, but it can halt your ability to drive completely. If you run a business, then this is the last thing you want - especially if the nature of your business requires employees to make it to work, rather than having the backup option of being able to work from home.

If there is snow blocking access to your commercial property, then this has the potential to significantly impact your business operations, whether that’s due to your employees, your customers or both not being able to access the building. If this lasts for days or happens on multiple days throughout the year, then this could be losing your business large portions of revenue each year.

Subzero Temperatures

As unfavourable as the nasty bite of cold winter air can be, it can still be braved assuming you’ve got the necessary attire and number of layers on. However, it’s not so much the temperature itself that poses a major issue, but what occurs as the result of such temperatures. Ice.

Causing a number of accidents every year, ice is a hazard that should be regarded with the utmost sincerity. If there is ice on the ground at your commercial premises, then this can pose a safety risk to both pedestrians and drivers.

As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your premises are safe for all staff and visitors. This includes the land you own outside the building. If there is ice on the path leading up to your building, there is the risk of individuals slipping on this and injuring themselves, as well as the risk of them slipping and falling into the road, putting them in further danger.

As for drivers, ice on the road or in your car park can cause them to unintentionally lose control of their car, which in turn could cause them to crash into a surrounding object, your building or other cars. Even if they are driving slowly and with care to avoid any visible ice, the presence of black ice puts them at the most risk, since this cannot be seen and thus not actively avoided.

Not only do you not want employees or visitors to be injured whilst on your property, but if you don’t take the necessary actions to adequately reduce these risks, then you will be the one held liable for any accidents.

Storms

Whilst this one is more specific and not necessarily a repeat occurrence every winter, we still think it deserves a special mention. The UK has seen a rise in storms over the past year, with 2024 starting with the most recent - Storm Henk.

With treacherous winds and heavy rainfall, storms have the potential to cause all kinds of damage - especially to vegetation.

The strong winds brought with storms will often blow over trees and cause other damage to vegetation, such as causing roots to rise up from the soil, stems to snap and foliage to fall. When this happens, it can leave your commercial grounds covered in natural debris and looking generally unruly and unappealing.

The Solutions

All of the aforementioned issues can be detrimental to your business operations. In particular, they can be incredibly costly to deal with, not to mention frustrating. Thankfully, there are a number of preventative and reactive measures that you can take in order to keep the negative effects winter weather has to a minimum.

We’ve listed the solutions to each of the above three challenges below.

Snow Clearance

If the presence of snow would affect your business, then snow clearance is your saving grace. Commercial snow removal services are on hand to completely clear snow off the roads leading up to your building.

With access to the necessary vehicles, they are able to use snow ploughs to do this effectively and efficiently, so that your business remains accessible and you can carry on working as normal with minimal disruption. Even if there were certain employees who were still unable to make it to work due to snowy conditions where they live, the negative effects this would have on your business would still be reduced compared to if no one were able to make it to work.

Gritting Services

In order to tackle the issue of ice on the ground, gritting is essential. Gritting can be both a preventative and reactive measure. It works by spreading rock salt onto the pavement and road surfaces, which in turn lowers the melting point of any present moisture and prevents ice from forming or melts it when it has already formed. Foot traffic or vehicle traffic crushing this into the ground then makes this even more effective.

If you don’t have the time or personnel to carry out gritting, then you can hire gritting services to carry it out for you. This is often more efficient, anyway, as commercial gritters will be able to use high quality gritting vehicles to ensure that grit is evenly distributed across the paths, roads and car park situated at your premises.

This ensures that you are doing your part as a responsible land owner in taking the necessary measures to ensure the safety of visitors to your site and mitigate the risks of accidents occurring.

Land Clearance & Tree Surgery

If there is vegetation on your commercial grounds that has been damaged by a recent storm or strong winds, then this can leave your grounds looking unprofessional and may even have an effect on the health of your landscape.

If there are any fallen trees or unkept vegetation, then land clearance services are able to carefully and professionally remove these for you, making way for new growth and restoring the visual appeal of your property. Furthermore, they will ensure that any removed vegetation is disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

In the case that there are damaged trees, these will likely have left behind stumps. If you would rather have these removed and replaced with turf or other vegetation to improve the appearance of your landscape, then you can make use of stump grinding on stump removal services, which will do just that for you.

There are other aspects of tree surgery that you may also benefit from when used as a preventative measure. For example, if weather forecasts show that a storm or strong winds are on the way, then it may be a good idea to arrange a crown reduction or tree pruning prior to this weather arriving. Doing so will cut back your trees without removing them completely, minimising the chance of damage and falling branches in harsh weather conditions.

Comprehensive Services You Can Rely On

If you would benefit from each of these solutions, then you’ll want a company that can do it all for you. Here at GMCB Ltd, we offer a comprehensive service that you can trust, all at a competitive price.



Operating across the central belt of Scotland, our expertise covers a range of services, including snow clearance, gritting, land clearance and tree surgery, as well as general grounds maintenance. We understand that these can be unavoidable expenses during winter, which is why we’ve worked to provide a service that offers exceptional value for money, so you can get the solutions you need without it being too costly.

To discuss how we can help you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.