£200,000 goes in the pot

CAPTION: Drivers’ nightmare ... one of Oldham’s many potholes awaiting repair.

...but a whole lot more is needed to repair our roads

OLDHAM transport chiefs will be handed more than £200,000 to deal with potholes caused by the big freeze — but the council claims millions are needed to bring the borough’s roads up to scratch.

Chancellor Alistair Darling in his budget said Oldham will get £217,000 to help repair roads damaged by the snow, ice and plummeting temperatures in recent months.

Across the country repairing a pothole costs an average of £78 meaning 2,782 holes in Oldham could be filled in with the extra cash.

Oldham council cabinet member for environment and infrastructure Mark Alcock said changes made to the way they deal with potholes had significantly reduced the cost of repair. Previously when a pothole was identified it was filled on a case by case basis. Now teams actively look for others in the same street or area and fill them in immediately, significantly reducing the estimated cost.

He said: “We cannot put an exact price on how much is costs us but how we do things now is much cheaper than the £78 figure. I welcome this money and it will go some way to repairing some of the pothole and I am really grateful.

“However this has been the most severe weather we have had for 30 years and this money will assist but the problem goes beyond the recent problem.

“There has been a lack of funding for highways under labour and Tories and we need £50 million to make roads suitable across the borough.

The funding will allow local authorities to pay for the most urgent immediate repairs.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said: “The Chancellor announced an extra £100m for local authorities to repair pothole damage as a result of this winter’s severe weather. I intend to allocate this to councils as soon as possible, so that they can immediately get their maintenance staff filling potholes and making our roads as safe as possible for drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists.

“We have trebled funding to local authorities over the last 10 years for road maintenance. This pothole fund further demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that our roads are in the best possible condition.”