The Estates Department have activated their Adverse Weather Bronze Plan today. During times of adverse weather, Estates work together to ensure the Canterbury and Medway campuses remain as accessible as possible, and that staff and students are well informed about the conditions on and around campus.

Campus Security receive MET Office weather alerts and pass these to the relevant Estates teams. As Security are on site 24/7, they help to monitor the conditions on campus and help with any safety issues arising from the adverse weather.

The Grounds Maintenance team work hard to grit the priority roads, car parks and paths, before moving onto other areas of the Canterbury campus. Today, the Grounds Maintenance team have gritted all the main roads, car parks and paths on campus, some multiple times.

Medway Facilities Management have also gritted the Drill Hall and Gillingham car parks at Medway campus.

Gritting is very difficult to get right as timing is key. If you grit too early, you waste the salt as it is blown away. Heavy rain can also wash away the salt. Ideally the grit goes down on a damp surface and starts to stick. Learn more about how gritting works.

During times of adverse weather the Transport Team are in constant communication with other Estates teams so they can provide helpful updates to staff and students. Check out their planning your journey webpage for advice and tips about travelling during adverse weather. The webpage provides links to journey planners and service providers so you can easily check the status of your journey. The @unikent_travel and @CampusShuttle twitter accounts are also shown from this webpage. The Transport Team monitor the tweets about the roads and travel providers that may affect staff and students. They have also been tweeting from @unikent_travel this morning to give updates on gritting and the conditions of the car parks.