Call for the rich to pay for Cornwall’s road improvements
A call for Cornwall Council to take action on faded road markings across the county saw a novel suggestion of how the work could be paid for – get the rich to fund it
A call for Cornwall Council to take action on faded road markings across the county saw a novel suggestion of how the work could be paid for – get the rich to fund it.
Reform UK councillor Keith Johnson tabled a motion at a full council meeting on Tuesday (19 May) asking for a comprehensive review of the current inspection, maintenance and renewal programme for road markings across Cornwall.
He said its should be a priority that yellow lines are repainted or reinstated at locations where deterioration presents a clear road safety risk.
Cllr Johnson said: “If the current programme was working, we would not be seeing zebra crossings fading, junction markings disappearing and residents reporting repeated near misses.
“We would not see faults taking months, sometimes years, to be addressed. That is the reality on the ground.
“We are told the yellow line budget will be £225,000 a year, yet officers estimate a backlog of around £2m. The white lines are even worse. We are not catching up – we are managing decline. This is a legal responsibility.”
He added: “I’ve heard it said, withdraw the motion, but how can I when we are facing a growing road safety crisis across Cornwall? Even if one person is seriously injured because action came too late, because markings had faded or because warnings were ignored then part of that responsibility rests with all of us.”
Cllr Dan Rogerson, Liberal Democrat cabinet member for transport, outlined how much more the council is doing to solve the problem and, as a result, felt that the motion was unnecessary.
He said he agreed with Cllr Johnson that more needed to be done. “That’s why when I had the opportunity to work on the transport part of the budget I said this isn’t good enough and we need to put in more.
“I was delighted that people in this chamber agreed with that as well. What was allocated was about £40,000 per annum, which will now be up to £225,000.
“We’re going to be spending five times what was being spent before on renewing these yellow lines. We’re five to six weeks into that budget’s timeline and we will see an improvement in this. This administration take this very seriously.”
Conservative councillor Martyn Alvey said a road safety policy exists within the council to balance risks against the amount of money available. “I have been frustrated, as all members have, with white lines not being repainted, but ultimately I must trust the system that the money is allocated as best as possible for safety,” he said.
Cllr Rowland O’Connor, leader of the Cornish Independent Non-Aligned Group, added: “I understand why this motion has been brought forward – every one of us has received concerns about faded road markings. The question is whether this motion is the right way to improve safety for people in Cornwall. I do not believe that it is.
“Officers have already confirmed that substantial action is under way and we’ve had investment in white lines and road studs risen to £1.25m over the past two years. In other words, the work’s already happening.”
He said officers have “explicitly warned” that diverting money away from pothole repairs and road maintenance to cover the yellow lines backlog could impact high risk safety interventions.
He said a clear explanation of where the extra money would be found to address the issues in the motion is “missing” from Cllr Johnson’s report and because of that he couldn’t support it.
Mebyon Kernow councillor Loveday Jenkin said faded lines is a problem that has grown over the past ten years or so. “We know there’s a backlog, but what I don’t see in this motion is how that backlog can be filled. Where is that money going to come from? It’s making policy on the hoof without actually doing the hard work to ensure that we get the best service possible for all our residents.”
Cllr Drew Creek, leader of the Green Party group, suggested an amendment that addresses the “chronic underfunding of local highway infrastructure” by getting the council to call upon the Government to introduce a progressive wealth tax on assets exceeding £10m to create a dedicated local highways safety fund.
He said it would ensure that the maintenance of roads is “funded through the broadest shoulders in society rather than those regressive council tax rises falling disproportionately on the ordinary working families in Cornwall”.
Labour group leader Cllr Kate Ewert seconded his amendment. Cllr Johnson didn’t accept the amendment, while Cllr Paul Ashton, leader of the Reform group, thought someone might have “slipped something into my lunch”, so taken aback was he with Cllr Creek’s suggestion.
Lib Dem council leader Cllr Leigh Frost said he “loved” the amendment and it was “all good fun” but “in reality I feel it’s best to reject the amendment and reject the motion because the reality is this motion is just asking us to do something we’re already doing but in a less efficient and more bureaucratic way”.
Independent councillor Julian German asked, possibly with his tongue in his cheek and to an amused reaction, if those councillors affected by the introduction of a progressive wealth tax should declare an interest before voting on the amendment.
The amendment was lost as was the original motion with 46 against and 24 in favour.