Councils to fork out almost £1 billion to sort out potholes
A simple, secure card for anyone No credit checks with nearly 100% acceptance Safe shopping online or abroad Share the account balance with up to four cards per account, perfect for close friends and family No more overdraft fees or unexpected charges, the ideal helping hand for students IT will cost councils in Yorkshire and the Humber nearly £1bn to get roads into a reasonable condition, despite filling a pothole every three minutes on average.
In Yorkshire and the Humber, 188,773 potholes were filled in 2017/18, an average of one every two minutes and 47 seconds, according to the latest results of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA).
The survey asked highways departments to estimate how much it would cost to bring their road networks up to scratch (assuming they had the resources in place to make it practical to do so as a one-off project).
Based on responses to the survey from local authorities, it was estimated councils in Yorkshire and the Humber would need £0.94bn. The average highway maintenance budget per authority in Yorkshire and the Humber was £20m.
In 2017/18, councils across Yorkshire and the Humber said they paid out £3m in compensation to road users due to poor road conditions.
Across England and Wales, cash-strapped local authorities report that more than 24,400 miles of road are identified as needing essential maintenance in the next year.
Local authorities in England and Wales report that the gap between the funds they received and the amount they actually needed to keep the carriageway in reasonable order was almost £556 million – a shortfall of £3.3 million for every authority. And it would now take 14 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, provided adequate funds and resources were available.
Rick Green, Chairman of the AIA, said: “Although local authorities report an increase in average highway maintenance budgets this year, looking back over the last decade they have barely kept in line with inflation.
”This is reflected in road condition, with one in five of our local roads now classed as structurally poor – with less than five years’ life remaining – compared with one in six reported last year.
“Local roads are a vital asset, worth in the region of £400 billion, and they support all aspects of our daily work and home lives.
“But funding for their adequate maintenance has fallen short for so many years that further deterioration is inevitable.
“We accept that there is no magic wand to wave, nor is there a bottomless pot of money to tap into. There are difficult choices to be made at both local and national level but the government needs to provide adequate funding for a well maintained and safe local road network if it wants to support communities and drive economic growth.” THE circus is coming to town.
Social enterprise Circus Starr will stage two free Big Top shows for an audience of 1,000 local children and their carers who are often excluded from these kind of events because of their needs and circumstances.
The two shows will take place at 4.45pm and 7pm on Monday, May 7, at Huddersfield RUFC’s Lockwood Park venue and will include all the excitement of the circus with acts including acrobats, aerialists and a very mischievous clown.
Tickets, paid for by local businesses, are pre-allocated to families who struggle to go to or enjoy a live performance.
Michelle Crossley, a director of Circus Starr, said: “The barriers families face to accessing creative and cultural activities are many and varied.
“Some families simply can’t afford or have a child with a disability whose needs aren’t being met elsewhere.
“The atmosphere in our Big Top is warm, friendly and extremely relaxed. Children are encouraged to be themselves – shout out, move around, dance or take time out if they need to. We’re officially a tut-free zone!”