Applecroft Road To Be Resurfaced As Councillor Warns Of Reduction In Road Improvements (York Liberal Democrats)

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Applecroft Road To Be Resurfaced As Councillor Warns Of Reduction In Road Improvements

December 14, 2011 9:03 AM

Nigel Ayre Applecroft Road Residents in Applecroft Road, Heworth Without will soon benefit from a much improved road surface thanks to the local Ward Committee, but they may be some of the last to benefit as local Liberal Democrat Councillor, Nigel Ayre warned residents to expect fewer road surface improvements over coming years.

The decision to fund the resurfacing of Applecroft Road from the Ward Committee budget came after Councillor Ayre carried out an inspection of all the roads in the ward with the Council's Head of Highways Infrastructure, Andy Binner.

Councillor Ayre said he carried out the joint inspection in order to ensure residents gained the best value from the Ward budget. He said, "The condition of roads and footpaths is always one of the main priorities for local people. I receive a lot of letters from residents asking for the Council to resurface their road, so it helps to do regular inspections with the Council's highways department to see which should be high priority."

Councillor Ayre said likely budget cuts by the Labour Council would mean fewer local roads being resurfaced in future. He said, "The need to prioritise those roads most in need of repair is likely to be even greater over the next few years."

"Labour's Fairness Commission has proposed big cuts to the resurfacing budget and their plans to scrap Ward Committee funding will mean we can't step in to act locally. This may be the last time that we can use Ward Committee funding to react to the wishes of local people and take action to improve road surfaces."

Despite the likely budget cuts, Councillor Ayre promised to continue to put the case for more improvements to local roads and footpaths. He said, "While there is likely to be less money around to resurface local roads, I will continue to press the Council to ensure that the roads in Heworth Without that are most in need of repair are included in the Council's work programme."

"I would encourage local people to continue to report problems to both myself and City of York Council."