By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
A bid calling for more funding to help clear the backlog of road repairs in Gloucestershire has been voted down amid concerns of “political point scoring”.
Tewkesbury Borough Council debated a motion on Tuesday night (September 30) which stated many roads need urgent repair.
Reform UK councillor Graham Bocking wanted the council’s leader to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to provide a one-off lump sum to help Gloucestershire County Council – who are responsible for highways – with repairs.
His proposal also suggested the creation of a cross-party working group with representatives from each of the districts to agree an action plan to fix the pothole issue across the county.
The recently-elected Northway councillor said the poor state of local roads was one the serious concerns raised by residents during the election campaign.
He claimed many people are killed or left with life-changing injuries due to crash started by the poor state of roads.
“The figures from the Department for Transport reveal that, in the past seven years, 61 people have lost their lives while a further 1,199 were seriously injured in crashes triggered by bad road surfaces,” he said.
“Many motorcyclists cite having to watch for potholes, swerve or have their course changed by poor road surfaces as an ever-increasing risk and motorcyclist deaths have shown a nine per cent increase.”
He also cited the environmental issues caused by potholes which exacerbate emissions, soil erosion and runoff.
Cllr Bocking also said claims for pothole compensation against the County Council have risen by more than double in the last three years.
However, during the debate the vast majority of councillors from the Liberal Democrast, Green Party and Conservaives spoke against the motion while the Independents supported it.
Councillor Matt Dimond-Brown (G, Tewkesbury South) said he found it challenging to support the motion as “roads don’t get bad over night”.
“Roads don’t get bad over night. For the last 14 years we’ve had a Conservative government, county and borough who have not tackled the roads.
“I believe the councillor proposing this was not only a Conservative but also on this council.”
And Councillor Jim Mason (C, Winchcombe) said he couldn’t support the motion because it has come too late.
“Thanks to the previous administration at the County Council, I have witnessed a new stretch of road that leads from Winchcombe to Gretton.
“I’ve seen a new stretch of road that leads from Winchcombe to Blacksheds and a new stretch from Winchcombe to Toddington.”
He also said roads were being repaired at Salperton.
“The County is doing something about it,” he said. “They are doing their best to do something about it.”
Councillor Mike Sztymiak (I, Tewkesbury North and Twyning) said there was “a lot of political point scoring going on”.
“The thrust of the motion does highlight the issue of highways maintenance,” he said.
“It is a big concern if you speak to the public on the doorstep, they are concerned about the roads.”
Deputy mayor George Porter (LD, Shurdington) agreed the county’s roads need work on them.
And he had sympathy with the residents who raised concerns but there are County Councillors already working on the issue.
And by writing a letter the council was “at risk of becoming very parochial”.
But Cllr Charlotte Mills (I, Brockworth East) said as an Independent she would support the motion as she was standing up for residents.
“I can hear all of you saying, yes, we need road repairs, we need safety, we need environmental support, and our residents want to encourage us as their representatives to move forward,” she said.
“I’m hearing it from all the different parties but I can’t help but feel when this has come from someone that isn’t from your party it is being dismissed.
“Not because of the merit of what it is but the party it is coming from.”
The motion was defeated by 18 votes to six with three abstentions.