Yorkshire city to spend extra £1m on winter road repairs

AN EXTRA 1m of taxpayers’ cash is being used to pay for road repairs across a Yorkshire city after the prolonged winter freeze.

The additional funding has been allocated by York Council to fund an extensive programme of repairs during the new financial year, including work to the city’s roads network which has been damaged by the sub-zero temperatures.

Senior councillors have admitted that road repairs are among the top priorities which taxpayers have identified for their cash to be spent on, and the worst winter for more than 30 years has accentuated the need for the work to be carried out.

The council’s executive member for neighbourhood services, Ann Reid, is due to approve a list of roads and footpaths next week which will be repaired throughout the new financial year.

Coun Reid said: “Over the last seven years, the Liberal Democrat council has invested extra money in repairing our roads and footpaths in response to residents’ priorities and I am delighted that we have been able to do the same this year.

“The severe weather has taken a toll on many roads and this extra money in our budget will enable us to carry out major patching work rather than just fill potholes, but at the same time we will be able to resurface extra roads.”

The winter freeze has placed a massive strain on the financial resources of councils across the country.

Council chiefs in York have confirmed that they are expecting to spend nearly 900,000 on the winter maintenance programme, almost double the amount initially set aside.

By last month York Council had already spent nearly 200,000 over the 480,000 winter maintenance budget on coping with the freeze and ensuring roads and pathways were properly gritted.

The council confirmed that it expected to spend at least another 150,000 during the winter, bringing the total cost to approaching 900,000.

A detailed analysis of its gritting services is now being carried out after the huge pressures which have been placed on the council’s road maintenance teams throughout this winter.

The 1m funding package which is due to be approved by Coun Reid on Wednesday next week will include 200,000 to improve highway drainage to help reduce the risk of flooding in the city.

A further 412,000 will be used to carry out repairs to highways, with the biggest scheme costing 98,000 earmarked for Elvington Lane. The remainder of the cash will be spent on major patching up of roads and resurfacing footpaths across the city.

A total of 97 per cent of residents who responded to the council’s recent budget consultation rated highway and footpath maintenance as a key priority.