Council increases budget to tackle potholes by £2 million a year

Plymouth councillors have agreed to invest a further £2 million a year to blitz potholes on city roads over the next 10 years.

The extra £20m funding was agreed by the Council at the annual budget setting meeting, which heard it would be spent on lasting road resurfacing, which provides provide better value than short term patching.

The funding, part of which will come from income from bus lane enforcement cameras, means the council will be spending a total of £5.1 million on road maintenance over the next year.

The pothole blitz was proposed by Cabinet Member for Transport Mark Coker, who said the Council understood the strength of feeling about the problem amongst Plymouth residents and the need for a sustainable, longer-term solution.

He said: "This is a national problem and we know it will only get worse unless we find a long term solution. This extra funding is the start of that process and means we have committed a minimum of £2m extra a year over 10 years, while continuing to work on a detailed long term solution to rid this city of potholes and improve the road network.

"I will be continuing to lobby ministers to get them to acknowledge the scale of this problem and the need for Government support."

The Council heard that Government funding cuts this year of £7.8 million and rising costs mean it has to deliver £17.8m savings and increase Council Tax by two per cent to set a £212 million revenue budget for 2013/4.

That means households in council tax band A will pay an extra 38 pence per week for more than 300 services ranging from bin collection to care services for vulnerable children and adults.

In his budget speech Council leader Tudor Evans said the budget would help support people in Plymouth being hit by the recession by prioritising job creation. A package of measures to help the city’s economy includes a £20 million investment fund.

He said: "We are facing devastating Government cuts and the impact of a really difficult economic climate, which makes it even more important our budget prioritises jobs for Plymouth residents. This is a proactive budget that is about investing in Plymouth's economy and prioritising the areas that people value most."

Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet member for Finance, said: "We have to make massive savings but we are protecting frontline services wherever possible. This means having to make really difficult choices but the worst thing we could do is stop investing in Plymouth at time when it needs it most. We can't let the Government cuts stop work to create jobs or to let our roads fall further into disrepair. This budget will make every penny count."