PM invited to look at Oxfordshire’s potholes
The Government is giving Oxfordshire County Council a record sum of £167.9 million over the course of four years towards fixing its potholes
Oxfordshire’s transport chief has invited Sir Keir Starmer to come and visit the county’s potholes after the Prime Minister criticised the Lib-Dem led council for its approach.
The Prime Minister said the Government had put “a record amount of money into dealing with potholes” and said Oxfordshire County Council should be asked “why they’re not using that money”, during Prime Ministers Questions last week.
He was responding to MP Olly Glover, who represents Didcot and Wantage, after he raised the issue of potholes in parliament and asked why the Government had cut the county council’s overall budget by £24.1 million in three years.
Councillor Andrew Gant, cabinet member for transport management, said the PM’s response was “untrue and unfair” in a letter to Mr Glover.
He also invited the Prime Minister to take a look at the county’s roads for himself.
He added: “It is a slur on the dedication and professionalism of my officers and contractors, who are out all hours and in all weathers providing safe roads for our residents.
“Perhaps most worryingly, it shows a complete lack of understanding of the pressures local government is under.”
The Government is giving Oxfordshire County Council a record sum of £167.9 million over the course of four years towards fixing its potholes.
But according to Mr Gant, the annual cost of maintaining their roads in their current condition is £49.9 million a year, meaning that even with the Government’s funding it still falls short of what is needed.
The council must fund the rest of the improvements using its own capital funds as well as significant borrowing.
The letter adds the council are committed to “steady state” maintenance, and describes the previous Conservative administration’s policy of “managed decline” as “disastrous”.
At the same time, the Government has reduced the amount of funding for Oxfordshire as part of a push to direct money to poorer parts of the country, leaving the county council with a £24.1 million shortfall in the next three years.
Conservative councillor Liam Walker, leader of the Oxfordshire Alliance opposition group, said: “Residents want action on fixing our roads, not excuses.
“The county council needs to be clear about how the £169 million Government funding will be spent and set out a proper, deliverable plan to fix our roads for the long term not just rely on short-term patch-ups that continue to fail.
“The Liberal Democrats seem to have adopted a managed blame policy, constantly pointing fingers instead of taking responsibility despite them running the council since 2021.”
He added that Conservative group had proposed to add more funding to fix 20,000 potholes, but the other parties voted against it.
“That says everything about their priorities”, he added.
A council spokesperson said they were adding “significant” local funding on top of the Government’s £169 million cash injection, to allow “a larger and more sustained highway maintenance programme to be delivered, including resurfacing, surface treatments, drainage repairs, and targeted structural improvement across the county’s road network”.