Roads and pavements fall apart after years of Tory neglect

1.37.33pm GMT Thu 11th Feb 2010

Susan van de Ven

New figures revealed by Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats show that the county's road and pavements are disintegrating after years of Tory neglect.

Consistent cuts in funding by the Conservative-run Cambridgeshire County Council and a refusal last year to back a Lib Dem proposal to invest an extra £7 million in the county's highways have caused the problems.

Figures show that:

• 3.4 per cent of our principal roads are in need of structural repair, up from 2.1 per cent last year.

• 7.1 per cent of non-principal roads need structural repair, up from 4.9 per cent last year.

• 23 per cent of unclassified roads need repair, compared to 19 per cent last year.

• 30 per cent of the county's footways are in need of structural repair; up from 20 per cent last year.

• Most worrying of all, a large proportion of the county's roads have been rated as "'amber", which means that they do not currently need urgent repair, but soon will. 17.3 per cent of our A roads are in an amber condition; and an even more worrying 26.8 per cent of our B and C roads, which constitute the majority of local residential roads, will soon need repair.

Kilian Bourke, Lib Dem spokesman, said: "These new figures just confirm what local people have known all along, our roads and footways are falling to pieces. Every single category of road and footway has deteriorated over the past year. Bearing in mind that these figures were recorded before the current spate of potholes, there is major cause for concern.

"The Tories are to blame. Their repeated budget cuts in recent years have sliced away at the very fabric of our community. Saving on our roads is a false economy. Damage to vehicles and physical injuries result in costly compensation claims. Radical action needs to be taken now."

"This is why our alternative budget proposes to inject an extra £13m into improving the county's roads, on top of the Conservative proposals. This massive investment would get the network back up to scratch."

South Cambs Councillor Susan Van de Ven said: "Last year the Lib Dems proposed to make a further £7m available to fix our roads and pavements. These figures vindicate that judgement.

"I hope the Conservatives have learned their lesson, and will approve our alternative budget next week."