Potholes go untreated as councils have budgets slashed

Mar 15 2010 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

At a recent cabinet meeting Ms Arkley was told by officers that to bring all the roads in North Tyneside up to the ideal standards would cost her authority £10m a year for 10 years. She currently has just £4.1m a year, with that amount now set to be reduced as Government cuts take hold in coming years.

Newcastle Council has only just agreed to spend £7m a year on maintenance. Their officers have been told a cut of up to 50% could be carried out after the next election.

Wendy Taylor, Newcastle city council’s executive member for transport, said it was important the Government was honest about the cuts about to be made.

“If we’re not going to be able to carry out investment then we need to be told that now so we can start planning for this.

“We need firm assurances from the Government that the money we are planning to spend will be available.”

The cuts will hit motorists such as Brian Hegarty who led a petition to force Durham County Council to fix pot holes in Kelloe.

Mr Hegarty was left with a £91 repair bill for his car’s suspension. Last night he warned the roads in parts of Durham “cannot get much worse”. He said: “There’s not enough money spent already. If they cut that there’ll be a lot more people like me who will lose out.”

Durham County Council denied it was facing cuts and said no official meetings with Government transport bosses had taken place.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are aware that some regions are considering their priorities against various future funding scenarios. This seems prudent and sensible.

“Of course, when considering new funding commitments we need to look very closely at the impact of decisions on future budgets. No responsible Government would do otherwise.”