It will take years to fill in these potholes

Feb 4 2010 by Judith Phillips, North Wales Weekly News

It will take years to fill in these potholes

AFTER one of the coldest winters in 30 years roads are littered with cracks and potholes but county councils aren’t getting enough extra funding to cover the repair bills.

Assembly Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones has announced that local authorities will get an extra £2.75m to help them tackle the numerous pot holes left by the recent icy weather and heavy rain.

The money is in addition to the annual grant already allocated to councils for road maintenance, and he said it would allow urgent repair work to begin immediately.

Mr Jones said: “This extra money will help local authorities address the problems caused by the recent unforeseen weather conditions.

“It will allow them to tackle the potholes left by the recent adverse weather, and to continue the progress they have made to date maintaining the road network.”

In Conwy county, particularly in rural areas new potholes have sprung up in profusion since Christmas, and the Welsh Local Government Association WLGA say the picture is the same across the country. It claims the extra Assembly funding will go nowhere close to meeting the repair costs meaning it could take years to fill in some potholes.

WLGA Chief Executive Steve Thomas said: “The recent bad weather has caused severe damage to roads across Wales, leaving local authorities to deal with significant repair bills. This cost, added to the huge financial pressure councils are already under has presented some real challenges for Wales.”

He said councils welcome the additional cash for vital repairs but still face a big hole in their roads maintenance budgets.

“Whilst the Assembly Government mentions that this money is in addition to the £5m Local Roads Maintenance Grant (LRMG), sadly this time last year this grant, which was originally £15m, was cut by £10m in this financial year’s Assembly budget.”

“The repair bill for local authorities has been estimated to run into millions of pounds. Therefore, whilst the WLGA is welcoming of any extra money allocated to authorities, once distributed amongst all authorities in Wales, this extra money only begins to start addressing the huge costs now facing councils and more must continue to be done to support them in their repair effort,” he commented.

He claimed a greater problem is the general poor condition of the local roads network with a patch and mend approach over many years leading to significant problems.

“It is now estimated by the Asphalt Industry Alliance that it will take 15.6 years in Wales to clear this backlog with an average shortfall per Welsh authority of £3.3m. Sadly with the pressures on local authority budgets large scale resurfacing of roads grows an increasingly remote prospect,” he added.

Cllr Joan Vaughan, Conwy’s cabinet member for infrastructure commented: “The recent severe weather has damaged Conwy’s road surfaces but it’s too early to put a figure on the financial impact, particularly as the winter season hasn’t finished yet. We will be monitoring the costs closely and I welcome any extra funding that will ease this burden.

But Clwyd West AM Darren Millar AM claimed the Assembly grant was just papering over the cracks.

“It is rank hypocrisy for the Assembly Government to claim it is tackling the pot hole problem caused by bad winter weather while at the same time slashing the road maintenance budget. The bad winter weather has left many roads in a terrible state and it is crucial local roads are made safe for motorists and other users.

“In the current difficult economic climate local authorities need to draw up plans which balance financial pressures against maintenance needs. While welcome, the £2.7m investment it in no way compensates for the £10m which is being chopped from the budget in the next financial year,” he said.