£76m needed to rid potholes

Up to £76 million is needed to bring potholed roads and footpaths across Worcestershire up to scratch, according to a new report.It claims: "Worcestershire is fast approaching the tsunami point where the cost of repairs to the most critical roads overwhelms the available funding."

Without intervention, things can only get worse, says the report by the Highway Maintenance Scrutiny Task Group. Members claim that A roads are in good condition but compared to the rest of the country, B, C, and unclassified roads, which make up 88 per cent of the network, are in poor condition.

They believe Worcestershire County Council is "not doing enough" planned maintenance to prevent even B roads from deteriorating and the only solution is for a massive injection of cash to halt the decline.

The report claims that to bring all roads and footways up to standard would require a massive investment of up to £76 million.

Repairs needed to B and C roads would cost £36m and and those for unclassified roads needing the most attention a further £30m. Footways also under threat from a lack of maintenance and investment would require a further £10m to bring them up to top condition. Members of the task force have recommended that a separate budget should be devised to deal with the maintenance of roads in the worst condition.