A plan to spend an additional £2million on improving roads and pavements around the borough has been agreed.
Despite significant cuts in funding from central government, the council’s Cabinet met on Monday, 23 May 2016, to agree an additional £2million, on top of the existing £3.55million annual budget, to improve the maintenance and upkeep of roads and pavements around the borough. The report also sets out ways of moving to a more evidence-based approach to how the council plans improvements.
While Brent is performing better than the London average for the state of its main roads, the number of faults being identified and reported on the roads is on the rise. The council is determined to improve how we tackle potholes and cracked, rocking or protruding slabs on roads and pavements.
The £2million cash boost will allow the council to extend the life of roads and pavements and reduce the need for multiple return visits. This will mean that more can be done to reduce trip hazards and potentially damaging potholes, and to keep the streets of Brent safe for all to use.
The plan will see slabs being replaced with tarmac when doing full pavement renewals in some places, which will help to make pavements more resilient and durable, and fit for purpose for the demands of today. The use of tarmac will also help to make limited resources stretch further, meaning more pavements can be repaired, making the borough a safer, more accessible place to live.
Not only will the investment reduce long term costs and allow for more roads to be maintained, but it will go a long way to mitigate traffic noise and vibrations caused by uneven surfacing and repeat maintenance works.
Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Brent Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:
“The state of the roads around the country is a really hot topic and, although we do perform well on a London-wide level, residents have told us that they want to see the council doing more. Bringing all of our roads and pavements up to scratch would cost £100m. Improving our processes and using more cost effective materials will make sure that the funding we do have is used as efficiently as possible.”