Essex County Council and the LGA are co-hosting the 2010 Snow Summit, the only nationally-focused conference of its kind to examine the implications of cold weather on the UK's infrastructure and resources.

Snow Summit 2010 will be held on 24th March at the Radisson Blu Hotel, London Stansted Airport 09.30 – 16:00.

Following one of the worst cold snaps on record, where local authorities worked hard to meet the heavy demands for gritting services, the Snow Summit will bring relevant stakeholders together and provide them with an open forum to analyse the delivery of services this winter, debate delivery and share best practice for the future.

Expert speakers will include representatives from central and local governments, field practitioners, and salt suppliers, as well as service users such as the Automobile Association, National Association of Head Teachers and the Institute of Directors. Highways specialists from Switzerland will share operational knowledge and practices, providing an insight into how things are done in extreme weather conditions, using working examples.

Ongoing issues will be tackled, such as how to meet and manage demand with finite resources, whether we need a change in the law, and how we best conserve and manage salt supplies. Delegates will also be encouraged to think about new ways of working and collaboratively make recommendations for future practice which will inform the LGA’s review process.

 Essex County Council and the LGA are opening the 2010 Snow Summit to anyone with an interest in winter weather and its implications on their services, from Councillors, maintenance engineers and officers, schools and emergency services to business leaders.