Big freeze adds £210,000 to roads bill

AN extra £210,000 will be needed for emergency repairs to roads and footpaths in Barnsley which have been badly affected by the winter weather.

The council is now being asked to dip into its savings to meet the cost of repairs, which are expected to be done over the next three months.

Normally the authority expects to spend 35,000 a month on routine road repairs, but that bill will triple because of the damage caused by freezing water.

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In many cases that has "blown" the tarmac surface of roads, creating pot holes, while paving slabs have moved causing a potential trip hazard to pedestrians.

Some roads have damage which goes as deep as the foundations and council officials acknowledge that "failure to carry out the work will expose the council to public liability claims arising from damage to vehicles and/or injury to road users".

The council's ruling cabinet is being asked to make the money available from its cash reserves when members meet tomorrow.

The town's network of roads and footpaths has more serious long- term problems which the council estimates it will need 2m to resolve. That money will have to be identified from "capital" spending, rather than the budget for day-to-day expenses

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