ROADS: Schemes bring improvement

Thank you for reporting on this year’s county council programme of spending on roads (Northumberland Gazette, March 7).

This year we will deliver improvements totalling £26million, which will see a significant spend on smaller, more rural roads, which are in urgent need of attention.

Where possible, we will make repairs stronger and more substantial so we don’t have to return over and over again to the same potholes.

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In addition to this, because poor drainage is often responsible for damaging our roads, we have increased the budget for this important area.

And we have over £300,000 allocated for small-scale safety schemes, where we will work with parish and town councils to bring about improvements in signage and traffic calming.

With over 3,000 miles of roads to look after, we cannot expect to do everything that residents would like us to, but, as we have done for the last two years, we will continue to invest heavily in our roads to catch up on the work desperately needed.

Many of the schemes included in this year’s substantial programme have been requests put forward by town and parish councils, residents and county councillors.

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One such scheme, which did not appear in your report, is to repair the cobbles in Bondgate Within. This was put forward by the town council and councillors Gordon Castle and Robbie Moore, and I am pleased that as a result of their effective lobbying we have included this for the coming year.

Too often this important area of Alnwick has received cheap fixes, which are unsightly.

This £200,000 scheme will get under way this financial year and will bring a much needed improvement of this important part of our county.

Coun Glen Sanderson,

Member for Environment and Local Services