SOLIHULL is rated among the middle-performing council areas for the effective way it spends Government funding on road repairs.
A new ‘traffic light’ map of the UK is based on current road conditions and looks at how local authorities spend cash to fix potholes and invest in long-term measures to maintain roads.
It shows which highways authorities are excelling in road repairs and which ones ‘could do better’.
Solihull, like much of the country is in the Amber middle category.
The Government has invested millions of pounds worth of funding into local authorities for road repairs.
The data was reduced in conjunction with National Pothole Day on January 15.
Councillor Ken Hawkins, cabinet member for Environment and Infrastructure, said: “Maintaining and improving our local highways is a top priority for this council.
“We therefore welcome the Department for Transport’s (DfT) new road maintenance rating system, which provides the opportunity to benchmark ourselves against others and receive feedback from the DfT on where they would like us to improve.
“We recognise our amber rating and will continue to work hard for our residents to ensure we are performing strong ahead of our next assessment.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “For too long drivers in the West Midlands 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 in the West Midlands with £800million 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 local highway authorities 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.”
Shocking statistics show the repair bills after cars have gone over potholes averages around £320 but they can run into thousands of pounds.
The Government says its record £7.3billion national investment for local road maintenance is enough for LHAs to renew and improve tens of thousands of miles of roads in every corner of the country.
The red, amber, green ratings are based on three key areas – the condition of local roads, how much LHAs are spending on road repairs and whether they are following best practice in maintaining highways.
To boost standards, LHAs currently rated red will receive dedicated support to bring them in line with best practices, backed by £300,000 worth of expert planning and capability assistance. The support programme will include peer reviews where sector experts will help improve processes and provide practical advice.
People can visit: gov.uk and search for ‘Road maintenance ratings map’ to see the map and find out more.
