More potholes set to be filled in thanks to Council cash fillip

Council workmen completed this road work earlier today (Wednesday) on St Stephen's Street in Oldham

Oldham Council has been awarded an extra £813,000 to improve the borough’s roads.

This extra money is on top of the £6.2m Highways Improvement Project the Council is already investing this year to improve surfaces for all road users.

The council has been allocated an additional £411,000 from the government’s Local Highways Maintenance Incentive Fund as officials have demonstrated the delivery of cost effective improvements across the network.

This money will now be used to resurface a number of streets and roads that are showing their age.

In addition the Council has also been given £402,000 to repair potholes, and in some instances prevent them.  

The work will use a much tougher surface course with a longer life expectancy.

Councillor Arooj Shah, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “As a council it’s our duty to provide good quality roads for residents and motorists to help improve access and driving conditions.

“Despite the ongoing cuts to our funding and financial challenges we recognise it’s vital to invest, and attract funding, so we can invest in our key infrastructure wherever possible.

“We are already on site working on some of these schemes so people should start to see the benefits and improvements from this pretty quickly.

“As always with infrastructure works, this may mean some temporary inconvenience in terms of traffic disruption, but we will be monitoring this closely to ensure that we keep this to an absolute minimum.

“We’re investing money and improving our roads but we also need your help. If you see a pothole report it to us.

“Together – with this additional investment and your patience and help – we can deliver better roads.”

The Local Highways Maintenance Incentive Fund (2015/16 – 2020/21) is funding to reward councils who demonstrate they are delivering value for money in carrying out cost effective improvements.

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.