Bradford Council invests £500,000 to clean up district’s roads (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford Council's £500,000 investment to help tackle road problems and fix potholes across city

7:00am Monday 4th March 2013 in News By Hannah Postles, T&A Reporter

Bradford Council will invest half a million pounds into bringing the city’s broken roads up to scratch as new figures reveal it spent £215,000 repairing 6,159 potholes across the district last year.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show the authority made more repairs and spent more money on the problem in 2012 than it did the year before, despite receiving fewer complaints from residents.

In 2011, the Council spent £212,000 fixing 5,963 potholes after 1,722 complaints – with Bradford, Shipley and Keighley listed as hotspots.

Last year, the number of complaints fell to 1,453. The amount for the repair of each pothole comes to around £40.

But Coun Val Slater, the Council’s executive member responsible for roads, said the Council would continue to increase the amount it spends on the district’s roads and pavements, with £500,000 earmarked for improvements during Thursday’s budget meeting.

The money is in addition to £1.58 million in extra Government funding for road maintenance over the next two years, which was announced in December.

Coun Slater said: “This is something we do take seriously and we have listened to the people of Bradford.

“That’s why I was pleased to be able to announce this £500,000 funding.

“The roads have been affected by the weather and a lack of resources from central Government and they have deteriorated as a result.

“I’ll be the first to say the £500,000 we have put in will not solve the problem, so we have got to focus on the most difficult potholes and continue to improve our roads.”

Last year the Telegraph & Argus reported how Bradford Council faced a £30 million bill to bring the district’s road surfaces up to scratch, and it would take six years to do so even if the cash was available.

Coun Slater said the investment would help tackle the problem.

“Half a million pounds may not seem a lot out of £30 million, but we have got to put it into the context that it is coming from the money the Council has available while trying to protect frontline services,” she added.

The Council’s Conservative group’s roads spokesman, Coun John Pennington, said that it was his understanding the investment was to be targeted more at repairing pavements, but said potholes would be a “never-ending problem”.

“There are more and more vehicles, and more wear and tear on the roads,” he added.

“It is important, though, that when potholes are repaired they are repaired properly. On a road where there are a lot of potholes it may be cheaper to resurface the road altogether.”

Liberal Democrat group leader, Coun Jeanette Sunderland, said: “The roads are really dangerous for cyclists. The quality of the road surface is also really important for people crossing the road – it’s not just about cars.