Row erupts over the state of the district roads
Councillors clashed last week over the three-year highways improvement programme for West Berkshire
ONE of the first political rows of the new West Berkshire Council has erupted over the state of the district's roads.
On Wednesday, councillors discussed the three-year highways improvement programme for West Berkshire with the Liberal Democrats rounding on the ruling Conservatives claiming there had been a lack of consultation over which roads had been chosen for repair. They were also angry that the executive member for highways and transport, David Betts (Con, Purley) had announced the programme days before the recent local elections and claimed there was an imbalance in the number of rural roads included compared to the number of urban roads.
The programme lists the schedule of 130 roads across West Berkshire where a variety of surface treatment works will be undertaken this year at a cost of almost £3m, while it also includes a draft list of roads for the subsequent two years.
Some of the larger schemes this year include a 3,000m stretch of the A340 in Englefield, a 2,313m stretch of Copperage Road in East Ilsley, a 2,309m stretch of the B4000 Upper Lambourn Road and a 2,093m stretch of Valley Road in Speen from Snake Lane to Combesbury Lane.
There are 18 schemes in Thatcham, including two sections of the A4, while nine road improvement schemes are listed in Newbury, including stretches of Hambridge Road, the Monks Lane roundabout and the B4494 Oxford Road.
At the special overview and scrutiny commission meeting, the Liberal Democrats claimed the state of the roads was “the number one issue” when they knocked on doors canvassing, and said that the consultation process should have been more robust to include parish councils, town councils and emergency services, among others.
However, Mr Betts rejected the argument, adding that the council consults widely throughout the year and although he admitted the consultation period for councillors was short, he said it had been extended to enable them to make comments.
The council's head of highways and transport, Mark Edwards, said the list of roads had been based on the results of technical surveys on road conditions, adding that the split was actually in favour of urban roads based on cost and the number of individual road schemes.
After about an hour debating the subject, the original decision to approve the road programme was endorsed by the Conservative members on the commission, while a Liberal Democrat proposal to scrutinise the consultation process was rejected.
After the meeting, David Rendel (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central) said he felt the Conservatives had been totally complacent about the state of the roads, while Mr Betts said the opposition had made a political issue out of something that should not be political or contentious, adding that he was delighted the programme of works could now begin.
For more on this story, see this Thursday's Newbury Weekly News.