Labour has called on the SNP Administration at Renfrewshire Council to commit millions of pounds to fixing Renfrewshire’s pothole-ridden roads in the upcoming budget.
Eddie Devine, Leader of the Labour Opposition on the Council has said the SNP needs to match or even increase the record amount of money set aside for road repairs in the last year of the Labour Administration.
During the year 2016-2017 the Labour-run Renfrewshire Council committed £6.7 million for roads, but Councillor Devine says this winter saw the ‘perfect storm’ conditions for potholes to appear on the roads.
Councillor Devine said “The biggest talking point in the past few months has been the state of our roads and there needs to be a massive effort from the Council to get out there and repair them properly.
Photo: Cllr Devine
“The last year Labour were in power before the Council elections in May 2017 we had the largest amount of money ever budgeted for road repairs.
“Unfortunately, the weather conditions this winter created the perfect storm for potholes to appear on many of our roads. We had periods of rain then hard frosts, which caused the water to expand when it became frozen causing potholes in the road surfaces.
“It is now the time when the SNP Administration decides on the Council’s budget for the next financial year and we would call on them to make road repairs a priority and commit the same, or even more money, to repairing our roads as we did.
“Because of the winter we’ve had, more money is needed to fix our broken roads than ever before. “That would be a priority for the people of Renfrewshire and its also a priority for Labour on Renfrewshire Council’.
“The SNP Administration also needs to make sure the repairs that are being carried out are done properly.”
Council Leader, Councillor Iain Nicolson said “First of all I would like to thank Cllr Devine for recognising that this winter has been particularly brutal on our roads and this is also reflected across the whole of Scotland and has even impacted on our motorways.
“I have had discussions with many councillors including Cllr Devine and I think it’s safe to say that roads are a top priority for all of us in the council. I can assure Cllr Devine and the residents of Renfrewshire that we propose to increase the roads budget by a considerable amount in our budget.
“We hope all councillors will support our investment in roads and we are already challenging our officers to ensure we get maximum quality from this investment.”