Staffordshire show right way ahead for roads cash

摘要

The decision by Staffordshire Council (see page 42) to allocate an extra ￡20m to fund highways maintenance is a great boost for the industry and hopefully the start of a sea change among local authority finance officers. Staffordshire is prioritising road repairs at a time when too many holders of council purse strings are taking the shortsighted view and cutting back. Town Halls are gradually getting the message that voters care about crumbling roads because it lowers their quality of daily life. Slashing maintenance budgets is also a false economy as payouts caused by potholes soar and final repair bills rocket.