Council lobbies for pothole help (From Crewe Guardian)
Send us news by text, start your message CN News and your send photos and videos to 80360
Council lobbies for pothole help
1:00pm Thursday 19th July 2012 in News By Matthew Taylor
POTHOLED roads in Cheshire East may soon be repaired if the council is successful in lobbying for Government funding.
Clr Rod Menlove, cabinet member in charge of environmental services, praised the work of the region’s emergency teams during the recent bad weather, but explained that torrential rain had left behind roads that had been ‘literally washed away’.
The authority has now appealed to the highest level for cash to tackle the issue.
“The borough’s urban and rural roads have suffered three consecutive harsh winters and potholes are appearing at a rate faster than can be filled,” said Clr Menlove.
“We estimate that by the end of the year, the borough will have recorded more than 30,000 potholes on the network and have had to divert vital resources from other parts of the Highway Budget to make sure the roads remain safe for all road users.
“Each pothole repair costs an average £50.
“That represents a lot of money and manpower and we should not be expected to cope with this alone.”
He added: “Let me assure residents that our leader Clr Michael Jones and I will be knocking on the door of Government very loudly with a good business case as to why we need money to make our roads safe and passable.”
While the Labour group backed the funding request, they said the geographical application of repairs must be ‘transparent and fair.’ Labour reiterated their concerns that the majority of roads earmarked for improvements by the Conservative-led council were in wards with a Tory incumbent.
Cllr David Newton, Leader of the Labour Group, said: "The state of the roads in Crewe is atrocious and we welcome moves to find funding for badly needed repairs. However, we need transparency to explain why some roads are repaired and others are not."
Shavington ward’s independent Clr, David Brickhill, previously stated, “I believe that all the road redressing is in wards with a sitting Conservative councillor except the one in Alsager where Liberals - part of the coalition - hold sway. There are roads in non Tory wards in a much worse state which are not being attended to.”
Share your views at creweguardian.co.uk.
