LCC: Conservatives cut 2016 Lancashire pothole budget by £3.25m

The announcement by the Conservative Government that Lancashire County Council will receive an extra £1,241,000 from the Pothole Action Fund has been described by County Councillor John Fillis, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport as 'derisory'.

Cllr John Fillis (pictured) said "In 2014/15, Lancashire County Council received, £32.266m. This included additional grants totalling £8.553m awarded by DfT and Defra to deal with severe weather, of which £4.5m was assigned to potholes. Faced with even worse condition this year pothole funding has been reduced to a derisory £1.241m, a cut of over £3.250m."

The scale of the damage caused by the prolonged wet weather is revealed by records showing that 7,808 defects were found in February, and 7,346 in March, whereas only around 5,000 a month are usually found at the height of winter. The prolonged wet weather in December and January not only caused damage to the roads but also prevent hot tarmac patches being laid.

Cllr John Fillis said "Our teams have been working round the clock through the worst floods that I have seen in Lancashire. They have done a fantastic job in extreme weather condition. We have bought in 29 extra teams from external contractors to support our existing 24 crews in tackling the legacy of road damage, which will help us catch up on the backlog quickly.

"The Conservative Government are burning the budget at both ends, by cutting general road maintenance since 2014/15 by £3.5m and further cuts to come over the next three years on £7.5m, along with the cuts to roads repair of £3.259m, this is a false economy and will cost the people of Lancashire more than the government is saving."

"We have the facts and figures to prove that well maintained roads reduces the risk of potholes providing safer and smoother journeys. This was recognised by the Government when they decided we were in the best three highway authorities in the country to deal with road maintenance. I do not know where the government gets its figures from when they claim funding will fill 23,415 potholes in Lancashire, they have not provided any formula with the announcement.

"People in Lancashire are paying their car tax, petrol tax and income tax, they deserve a better response than this from the Conservative Government."