Havering students name Marlborough Highways’ new winter gritters

January 22, 2026

Havering students name Marlborough Highways’ new winter gritters

  • By Marlborough Highways

Marlborough Highways recently visited Scotts Primary School to reveal the winning names for our brand-new winter gritters – part of the winter maintenance fleet working in partnership with Havering Council to help keep roads moving safely throughout the colder months.

Pupils from across the school took part in the competition, submitting many creative and imaginative suggestions. The quality of entries made choosing the final names a real challenge, but following careful deliberation, four winners were selected: Snowflake (Kiera, Year 2), Snow Blast (Blossom, Year 6), Snow Safe (Elyssa, Year 6), and Snowflare (Jiyaan, Year 6).

The visit was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Havering and Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Barry Mugglestone alongside Lead Member for Schools, Councillor Oscar Ford. The session gave pupils the opportunity to see the gritters up close, learn how they operate, and understand the vital role winter maintenance plays in keeping the borough moving during icy and snowy conditions.

Following an early morning assembly, Marlborough operatives, joined by Poppy, our Social Value and Sustainability Apprentice, were warmly received by staff and students alike. The team enjoyed explaining how the vehicles operate, answering questions from pupils and contributing to Marlborough’s wider social value commitment in Havering.

Councillor Barry Mugglestone, Havering’s Cabinet member for Environment, said:

“I would like to congratulate the pupils at Scotts Primary School for coming up with such fantastic names for the gritter lorries.

“It was good to get a look at the vehicles too and they will be a great addition to the fleet for our crews to use.

“I would also like to thank our gritting crews and winter roads maintenance teams for their hard work.

“Across these winter months, including over Christmas when the road temperatures have dropped, they have been going out regularly.

“Gritting main routes around the borough, in the evening and sometimes in the early hours, to help make sure everyone, from residents to emergency services, to our waste trucks and public transport, can all get around safely.”

Winter maintenance was introduced as part of Marlborough’s new highways contract with Havering Council. The new service represents a significant extension of Marlborough’s responsibilities in the borough, sitting alongside established Highways Maintenance, Street Lighting, Surfacing, Road Marking and Traffic Management services. Together this more integrated and resilient approach helps keep Havering’s roads safe and moving throughout the winter months.

 

“One of the things I value most is their very collaborative and transparent team culture. It makes a big difference to have a contractor that wants to work closely with us and is supportive and responsive. With Marlborough, I get a team who are attentive, work collaboratively and honestly with me and don’t lose focus on delivering first class communications and compliance.”
Carly Norris, Project Manager Operations, Hackney Council
“From the design stage, Marlborough has been fundamental in delivering the Broad Lane Square improvements scheme. During the works, not only did the team manage to keep to the programme, but they went the extra mile to ensure attention to detail and came up with innovative solutions to address issues encountered on site. My thanks on behalf of Haringey goes out to Marlborough for their dedication to deliver.”
Dana Rasheed, Project Manager, Haringey Council
“Working alongside our Term Service Contractor Marlborough Highways, we successfully completed renovations to the Crowstone Footbridge. The designs were provided by Marlborough, and the work was unique. The scheme was completed to budget and ahead of its programme duration.”
Neil Handley, Senior Engineer, Southend-on-Sea City Council
“I would like to thank you and your team for your efforts, the Marlborough crews were professional, courteous, and hard working all day and ensured the event went without a hitch. You and the team were a credit to the company, demonstrating commitment and support to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.”
Nick Davies, Specialist Services Manager, Barking and Dagenham Council
“I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to work with Marlborough Highways over the last six months. The quality of work is superb, and there has been some excellent collaboration between Milestone and Marlborough to complete, what at times, has been quite a challenging scheme. I hope to work with Marlborough on another project in the near future.”
Colin Hill, Schemes Manager, Milestone Infrastructure
“Marlborough worked with us in constructing a 1.3km cycle track. There were a number of technical difficulties to overcome, and their gifted foreman worked to propose some innovative solutions to the challenges we faced. The result is a facility that the locals are proud of, providing walkers and cyclists with alternative access to the hospital and nearby school. The scheme was a lot of hard work, but well worth it.”
Rob Venables, NEC Project Manager, Essex County Council
“Marlborough attracts people who take care and have pride in their work. Several gangs of Operatives worked tirelessly for six months to reconstruct drainage networks, lay more than 3km of high quality bespoke granite kerbs and granite channels blocks to ensure positive drainage. The technical compliance, attention to detail and level of quality finish along the entire carriageway was exceptional”.
Mark Chiverrell, Technical Director, Project Centre
“We saw huge benefits in appointing Marlborough as our full service contractor and we’re impressed – they’ve delivered consistent high quality service and superior quality control across every project. Marlborough, provide us with a ‘one-stop’ shop solution – we get the same quality of service and better control across all aspects of the project.”
Darren Bryant, Principal Engineer, Enfield Council

Please see our privacy notice for more information on how Marlborough Highways Ltd take care of your details.