Lib Dem pressure forces backtrack on highways funding

It is good news for Surrey residents that thanks to Lib Dem pressure the County Council seem to have changed their mind about cutting future expenditure on highway maintenance.

In spite of acknowledging that many roads across the county are already in a dire and deteriorating condition, figures recently published in the Medium Term (5 year) Financial Strategy indicated a reduction in spending on repair and resurfacing over the coming years.

It was also planned to remove a £100,000 allocation to each Member, that they spend on smaller schemes they prioritise in their Division.

Since the budget the Leader of Surrey Lib Dems Will Forster has spoken out against the funding plans and it seems that this has forced the Leader of Surrey County Council to backtrack. At the March council meeting he informally announced an extra £50m of funding and the reinstatement of the Member allocation.

Will Forster said: "We haven't seen official confirmation of the new numbers yet and we don't know where this money will come from - however it is very good news for all our residents. It is quite clear that they are fed up with the state of our roads. To a certain extent this is nothing new, but from my conversations on the doorstep it is quite clear that the highway network Surrey is in particularly bad shape this year and we need to keep up the pressure to make sure it isn't allowed to deteriorate further."