Council budget proposals seek to protect road maintenance in Highland

The Highland Council recognises that roads are a high priority for communities in Highland. The Highland Council administration has taken account of the views of the public and will be putting forward a budget tomorrow, Thursday 16 February, that protects local authority roads.

Chair of the Community Service Committee, Councillor Allan Henderson said: “Recent consultation and our annual performance and attitudes survey highlight the importance of roads and winter maintenance.  Early results from the digital budget simulator also point to roads and bridge maintenance being one of the service areas considered a high priority. We have been listening to the public and recognise the importance of roads to our communities across the Highlands. Accordingly the Administration will be proposing a budget which protects spending on roads. I hope this will help to drive forward continued improvement to our road network.”

Vice Chair, Councillor Richard Greene added: “The recent performance survey for Community Services shows a dramatic decrease in the number of pot hole instructions which indicates that there has been a significant improvement in this area.”

There has been a decrease in the number of pothole instructions raised in quarter 3 of 2016/17. The Service has invested in spray injection technology by purchasing a specialised vehicle to effect a more durable pothole repair. It is too early to establish if this is the reason for the reduction in pothole instructions created. The Service is continuing to encourage reporting of potholes by members of the public, through the Service Centre and on-line. http://www.highland.gov.uk/report

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