Councillor slams state of Highland roads network

A HIGHLAND councillor has slammed the state of the region’s roads and said the local authority has "failed" to maintain it to a reasonable standard.

David Henderson offered a damning indictment on the Highland Council’s care of the network – which covers 4200 miles – after an official warned an extra £7 million a year was needed for repairs just to maintain their current state.

It came after councillors agreed to transfer £1.5m from the road resurfacing budget to surface dressing instead, work which extends the lifespan of roads and costs less.

Richard Guest, head of roads and community works, warned the neglected network was badly deteriorating, particularly on urban roads, and could get worse over the next 20 years when a greater proportion of routes would need urgent repairs.

An estimated £160m is required by the council to tackle the backlog of repairs.

Mr Henderson told the transport, environmental and community services committee in Inverness on Thursday it was a depressing picture and a poor starting position for the next council, which will be elected in May.

"I look at this road situation and I can only see failure," said Mr Henderson (Inverness Ness-side).

"We set off in a bad situation and it’s only got worse. We are passing on to the next generation a whole set of worrying problems.

"If there is a part of the world where roads matter, it is the Highlands because we are all spread out – roads matter to us."

Mr Henderson’s comments came after the local budget leader, David Alston, made a surprise announcement that an extra £2m had been found from surplus funds to fill in potholes and carry out other road repairs.

The recommendation to use the cash has to be approved by the council at its budget-setting meeting next month.

Mr Guest said the average cost of surface dressing is £2.05 per square metre, compared to £17 for resurfacing. The council had spent £1.6m on surface dressing in 2010 and 2011 which saw 112 miles treated.

It spent more than £7m resurfacing in the same period but it only stretched to 62 miles.

Councillor Graeme Smith (Wick) claimed the council simply did not have enough cash and an "insufficient" budget to fix the network.

However, Landward Caithness councillor Robert Coghill said it was unfair the local authority was blamed for all of the problems and said other parties, including the UK Government, could be blamed for a lack of investment over the years.