Better roads – more money for repairs

In recent years the most pressing demand I have heard on the doorsteps in the West Berkshire part of my constituency is the need for more road repairs. There are too many potholes and collapsed road edges.

I and others have pressed this government to make money available to catch up with the large accumulated backlog of repairs that has resulted from years of too little maintenance. We now have heard that there will be substantial sums made available for Councils to do their job in the next 6 years, starting next year.

West Berkshire will receive £4.314 million next year, and £22.52 m over the six year period. Wokingham, with a smaller geographical area to cover, will receive £2.655 m next year, and £13.859 m over the six years.

1 Comment

  1. alan jutson
    December 24, 2014

    This is some good news at last, and certainly better late than never.

    On the same subject can I ask who actually oversees and is responsible for the quality of road repairs or Utility Companies so called making good.

    Is it the Local Authority, or central Government (on Highways)

    So very often after so called making good by the Utility Companies (all private now) we often find that roads need making good, or even worse complete re-surfacing yet again just a few months later, after poor work by these organisations.

    I ask because I recently reported to the Council some absolutely diabolical making good by one of our local Water Companies to the brand new road surface of the A329 recently completed near the Junction of the new road to the Station, when the so called making good on part this brand new road section, had completely collapsed within 24 hours a couple of weekends ago.

    After reporting it I got an immediate response from the Council highways team saying that they were already on to it, and it was already in hand, (an excellent response) and it was repaired and made good properly (by the Water Company in Question) within 24 hours, but this is not an isolated case is it.

    Local Authority or Government taxpayer money should not be used to make good so called repairs made by private organisations.

    Cable companies got away with murder on all of our pathways a few years ago, and making good by most utility companies on our roads seems to me to be very poor in general.

    Reply Councils are responsible for all roads and for their repair and supervision of utility works (with relevant legal powers) other than trunk roads. Trunks roads are the main motorways and a few large A roads (usually dualled). In my area the M4 is a trunk. The A 329M and the A4 are both local roads.

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