Tories Respond to Lib Dem Campaign to Repair Roads

11.58.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 19th May 2008

Many Surrey roads are in very urgent need of repair - this one is in Guildford

The Tory controlled County Council has responded to the Liberal Democrat campaign to improve the condition of Surrey's roads by allocating funding for road maintenance and financing a two-year programme worth £35.4 million. This follows their failure to spend all their own Highways budget over the last five years.

This is welcome news in some parts of Surrey as many of these roads are in very urgent need of repair. However, there are many more roads in the County that also require attention and the Tory administration at County Hall has to find the financial resources to ensure that all the necessary repair work is undertaken on a timely basis.

The down-side is that the Tory administration has funded the road repairs by reducing the budget for highway safety schemes such as pedestrian crossings, which will mean long delays in implementing essential road safety schemes across Surrey.