Sojan Joseph calls for immediate action after, in the first ever release of such data, Kent County Council was given an ‘amber’ rating for its pothole performance.

Pothole Day on the 15th January, and demonstrates that Kent County Council needs to do more to deliver road improvements for residents.

The Government has doubled the annual roads budget and is backing local authorities with a record £7.3 billion, multi-year funding settlement, including £1.5 billion for the South East and £274,036,000 earmarked for Kent.

The new ratings system and record multi-year funding settlement represent a major shift in how the Government supports councils to maintain their roads – moving away from short-term fixes towards

sustainable, preventative maintenance that delivers better value for money and improved road conditions for years to come. By ending the sticking-plaster approach and moving towards long-term, integrated settlements, the Government is empowering councils to deliver better roads for local people.

 

Mr. Joseph has written on multiple times to Kent County Council’s Reform and previous Conservative Administration to receive assurances they would be improving the state of roads in his constituency and to achieve this aim, the Government has doubled the annual roads budget and is backing local authorities with a record £7.3 billion multi-year funding settlement.

The new traffic light ratings are designed to shine a light on where more needs to be done by Local Highways Authorities to deliver change people can see in their communities.

While the Government is providing record investment of £274,036,000 across KCC’s amber rating suggests that Kent County Council faces difficulties in delivering value for money and smooth journeys for local drivers.

Commenting on the announcement, Sojan Joseph said:

“Residents in Ashford, Hawkinge, and the Villages – and the rest of Kent – know that our roads need work, and this ‘amber’ rating confirms that Kent County Council has not delivered on my constituents needs.

“I have written on multiple occasions to KCC to ask for reassurances that they would be using the new £274,036,000 funding to fix our roads. It’s clear from the Road Maintenance Ratings they have failed to do that and I am calling on them to make swift improvements”

The Secretary of State for Transport added:

“For too long drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate. I have heard time and again their frustration on footing the bill because they hit a pothole – money they should never have to spend in the first place. “We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3 billion to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for.

Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely, and for the first time we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area.

This Government’s record investment will save drivers money on repairs, make roads safer and help restore pride in our communities.”

ENDS