In order to help deal with damage to the road network caused by severe winter weather, the Department for Transport has granted Bury additional maintenance funds of £192,770, which comprises £70,741 (capital funding) and £122,029 (revenue funding). This additional funding is part of £103.5 million available for local highway authorities across England on a formula basis.
Bury Council will use these funds to undertake additional works, beyond those already planned within the existing 2014/2015 revenue budget of £898,400 and capital budget of £1,686,000.
The additional funding will help us fix the damage caused by the wettest winter on record. The funding will be spent in a cost effective way by adopting an innovative approach to road repairs.
Bury Council has also allocated an additional £100,000 of council funding for two new state-of-the-art road planing machines. These will enable the Highways Service to efficiently plane out damage to worn out surfaces and create a neat and stable bed on which to lay new asphalt. This approach will mean that the number of pot hole and patch repairs will be significantly increased across the borough's 665km of road network.
The Council is also moving towards area-based maintenance teams which will help with local delivery of materials, reducing travelling time between jobs and increasing targeted repairs to local roads and footways. This investment in our workforce and in modern-day equipment will mean that our residents will get longer lasting and improved minor repairs.
The additional £122,029 Department for Transport revenue funding will be used to compliment the investment in the two new road planing machines by funding additional materials. This will also help ensure that more road repairs can be carried out across the borough. The additional £70,741 Department for Transport capital funding will be used to resurface Marquis Avenue, Bury and Killon Street, Bury.
Repair works will be prioritised, with the worst winter damage being dealt with first. Priorities will be determined by using condition surveys carried out by the Council's Highway Inspectors as well as feedback from residents.
The works carried out by the road planing machines will supplement the existing planned capital maintenance programme of work which covers, for example, larger patch repairs, resurfacing, micro asphalt surfacing and jet patching.
Pothole Fund report for works from 1 July to 30 September 2014
Download a copy of the report for works from 1 July to 30 September 2014 [9kb]
Background
The Chancellor's 2012 Autumn Statement on 5 December 2012 announced an additional £1.5 billion of Government investment to improve the highway network and reduce congestion. Of this, £215 million of Government capital funds are to be given to Local Authorities to renew, repair and extend the life of the highway network in England. This award was split over two financial years.
Bury Council was allocated £326,000 for the 2013/14 financial year and £175,000 for the 2014/15 financial year.
Although each Authority was left to identify its own schemes, these funds were to be used to undertake additional works to compliment those already planned within the existing Highways Capital Maintenance Programme of £1,686,000 for 2014/15 rather than to displace them.
Works carried out
As a consequence of the additional DfT grant funding, the following streets had works undertaken to them.
Streets in Whitefield that have been resurfaced
- North Avenue
- Sykes Avenue
Streets in Prestwich that have been resurfaced
- St Margaret's Road
- Park Road (Partly funded from 2013/14 DfT grant funding)
How to report a problem with roads
Problems with roads can be reported online or by phone on 0161 253 5353.