Councillor slams state of Highland roads
A HIGHLAND councillor has slammed the state of the region’s roads and said the local authority has “failed” to maintain it to a reasonable standard.
David Henderson offered a damning indictment on Highland Council’s care of the network – which covers 4200 miles – after an official warned an extra £7 million a year was needed for repairs just to maintain their current state.
It came after councillors agreed to transfer £1.5 million from the road resurfacing budget to surface dressing instead, work which extends the lifespan of roads and costs less.
Richard Guest, head of roads and community works, warned the neglected network was badly deteriorating, particularly on urban roads, and could get worse over the next 20 years when a greater proportion of routes would need urgent repairs.
An estimated £160 million is required by the council to tackle the backlog of repairs.
Councillor Henderson has told the transport, environmental and community services committee in Inverness that it was a depressing picture and a poor starting position for the next council, which will be elected in May.
“I look at this road situation and I can only see failure,” said Councillor Henderson (Inverness Ness-side), a Lib-Dem, who is a member of the council’s ruling administration with the Independents and Labour.
“We set off in a bad situation and it’s only got worse. We are passing on to the next generation a whole set of worrying problems.
“If there is a part of the world where roads matter, it is the Highlands because we are all spread out – roads matter to us.”
Councillor Henderson’s comments came after the local budget leader David Alston made a surprise announcement that an extra £2 million had been found from surplus funds to fill in potholes and carry out other road repairs.
The recommendation to use the cash has to be approved by the council at its budget-setting meeting next month.
“The council is acutely aware of the deterioration of road surfaces due to wear and tear and adverse weather,” said Councillor Alston (Black Isle). “We recognise this is an issue in many communities. This is why we need to allocate additional funds from our balances to repair the pot holes as soon as weather permits. Decisions about funding beyond 2012 to 2013 will be for the next council, which will be elected in May.”
Mr Guest said the average cost of surface dressing is £2.05 per square metre, compared to £17 for resurfacing. The council had spent £1.6million on surface dressing in 2010 and 2011 which saw 112 miles treated.
It spent more than £7 million resurfacing in the same period but it only stretched to 62 miles.
Councillor Graeme Smith (Wick) claimed the council simply did not have enough cash and an “insufficient” budget to fix the network.
However, Landward Caithness Councillor Robert Coghill said it was unfair the local authority was blamed for all of the roads’ problems and said other parties, including the UK Government could be blamed for a lack of investment over the years.
Mr Guest said any increase in roads cash should be linked to the construction inflation figure, which is about three times the rate of the Retail Price Index.
The council also agreed to increase the proportion of cash in future spent on urban roads – routes with a speed limit of less than 40 mph.
