New £4m pledge to fix 'crumbling Dudley road network'
Dudley Conservatives have pledged to find £4 million to fix potholes in the borough, if they gain a majority in the elections next month.
The investment would see £1million allocated per year for the next four years to fix the streets – which council chiefs have described as ‘Dudley’s crumbling road network’.
Council leader Patrick Harley said: “In 2012 Labour took control of Dudley Council and slashed the roads budget by £300,000 per year, every year until 2017.
“I said in 2012 that Dudley as a result would become the pot hole capital of the Black Country and I have been proved right as the boroughs roads are in the worst condition I can ever recall.
“If we manage to gain a majority following the May elections my group will find the funding to the tune of £1m per year for the next four years.”
The council leader said up to half a million would be spent per year targeting some of the boroughs worst pothole hotspots and aim to address up to 10,000 potholes.
Councillor Harley claimed that a yearly investment of £100,000 would be used to clean gullies and £400,000 used to resurface up to 50 Dudley roads and pavements. But council chiefs have said the Conservative pledge is ‘not enough’ and have called for more pressure to be put on the Government.
Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, of the Labour party, said: “I certainly welcome any money that is going to be spent on the roads. The roads are in serious disrepair and there are lots of potholes. We welcome that but there is more to be done and that is certainly not enough. We must keep the pressure on the Government. We want to make sure that our roads are safe.
“The longer we leave it and the less we spend the worse the roads will get.” Another Labour councillor said the investment voted for by both parties in the recent budget was welcomed but a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared to what the roads needed.
Councillor John Martin, of the Labour party, said: “Both the majority parties voted for the budget that was passed we both agree on the need for extra investment in terms of council services and highways and roads are included in that. Dudley’s crumbling road network is in urgent need of extra investment.”
The Conservative investment pledge follows a £700,000 bid from Dudley Council to to introduce free car parking on all council owned car parks in Dudley from April 16.
