Posted on Tuesday 24th January 2012
Staffordshire's highways chief has today announced plans for an extra £20 million to be invested into improving the county’s highways network.
Cabinet member for Highways and Transport Mike Maryon said the major cash injection into preventative work on roads and footpaths would lead to long term savings for taxpayers.
The money would be invested over two years but residents would reap the benefits for decades.
The council’s ruling Cabinet will consider the proposals for the £20 million investment on February 1 as part of its recommendations for the budget for the year from April 2012.
The cash boost would come on top of the additional £30 million that the countyouncil’s administration has already ploughed into keeping roads repaired, safe and accessible since it came into power in June 2009.
The new cash shows a significant commitment by Staffordshire at a time when many other councils are cutting services and reducing investment overall.
Money for the investment has been released through the county council’s transformation programme, which includes savings made by closing down a number of council offices across Staffordshire and the move to a more cost – effective HQ at Staffordshire Place.
Staffordshire sees highways as an important quality of life issue but also one which is at the centre of its commitment to bring jobs and prosperity to the county. Money can also be saved by maintaining roads now to prevent trouble later.
It comes after residents told the council it should prioritise road maintenance and deal with potholes.
The money would be spent over two years from April 2012 in twomain areas:
Increasing preventative maintenance of roads to ensure that there is less need for emergency or large scale repairs as the highways deteriorate
More cash for the maintenance of rural roads, to be spent in consultation with local communities and their councillors.
The previous investment has already meant that there are fewer than 700 potholes currently outstanding in the 4000 miles of highways. The initial £30 million funding has had a dramatic impact in reducing the numbers.
This number is expected to continue to fall with the new funding boost making the problem more manageable in future as the material state of the highways is significantly improved.
County Councillor Mike Maryon, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “Local people have made it very clear to us that keeping Staffordshire roads properly maintained is their big issue. That’s why we earmarked £30 million two years ago and why we are again making this our top priority for the next two years.
“When we came in to power in 2009 we inherited an under investment in the highways network that meant it had deteriorated to a large extent and was on the brink of major decline. We know that the initial investment has paid off in terms of better roads and a more efficient repairs service but that was only a stop gap measure as more had to be done. This new money would make sure the good work continues into the foreseeable future.
“Investing now makes real financial sense to avoid more costly repairs later on, but it is also important to have a top class transport network for the county economy to thrive and residents to get good jobs. This is particularly important in our rural areas which play a vital part in job creation activities such as tourism. This is why we are including rural roads of local concern into the programme this time.
“The proposal is in line with our approach to running the council, which is to invest in new ways of doing things to ultimately save money for the under-pressure taxpayer. Using savings from money that we have created from not doing silly things like having too many buildings, being more innovative and efficient in how we work with and reinvesting it in to Staffordshire is common sense."