Town council aiming to get 'fair share' of road repairs cash

The move comes as Ashington Town Council stepped up its scrutiny of Northumberland County Council's highways investment programme.

Earlier this year, Cllr David Coyle brought a proposal to the council’s finance and general services committee, noting that the Government had announced a record £7.3bn level of funding for local road maintenance in England between 2026 and 2030, with £1.6bn to be released in the financial year alone.

This is on top of a £500m uplift already provided for 2025/26 – cash specifically intended to move local authorities away from emergency patching and towards longer-term, planned improvement of roads, pavements, bridges and street lighting.

Northumberland County Council will receive an allocation and decide how it is prioritised – but councillors in Ashington's say long-standing road condition issues in the town means they have a strong case for meaningful consideration.

Six schemes are proposed for 2026/27 – with a budget estimate of £770,000, covering roads including the 7th, 8th and 9th Row, Wansbeck Road, Central Primary, Woodhorn Villas and Armstrong Way.

Future years bring further commitments, with Station Road and North Seaton Road planned for 2027, Garden City Villas and Morpeth Road for 2028, and Briardene, Park Villas, First Avenue and Fifth Avenue for 2029.

NCC also spent £521,868 on make-safe repairs in the town in 2025/2 – and £1.76m over the last three years.

Of particular concern to the town council is the condition of C and unclassified roads.

The council says this “matters acutely” for Ashington, where a large proportion of the roads residents use every day are C and unclassified routes, carrying heavy residential traffic.

It also says unclassified roads are assessed by manual iInspections rather than the machine-based scanning used on A, B and C roads — raising questions about whether the true extent of deterioration.

The council says a proper understanding of the issues facing Ashington requires context and is seeking data on where Ashington sits relative to the rest of Northumberland, and whether planned investment reflects the relative condition of roads in each area.

Following a proposal from Cllr Caroline Ball, members also agreed to place on a future agenda the establishment of a dedicated Highways Committee at the Town Council.

This, they say, will ensure that highways matters remain live, and under active scrutiny going forward.