Bucks Council takes £5m from reserves to fix pothole crisis

During the budget setting process in February at a full council meeting, councillors agreed to release funds from its forecasted £47.8m pot that is only meant to be used for one-off, unforeseen emergencies.

This £5m release, which would leave £42.8m in Bucks Council’s general fund reserves, was proposed by leader Martin Tett (Con: Little Chalfont & Amersham Common) for road maintenance.

Despite this release and receiving an extra £2.3m from the government to tackle Bucks’ pothole crisis, Cllr Tett said it is “still not enough” and has lobbied the Secretary of State for Transport and local MPs for more funds.

READ MORE: Council leader says funds are 'not enough' to fix potholes in Bucks

Speaking at a full council meeting on Wednesday, April 26, Cllr Tett told members that the government has “no imminent plans” to increase pothole funding.

According to Cllr Steve Broadbent (Con: Ridgeway East), lead member for transport, there were over 2,600 pothole jobs reported since April 1 – with only 684 of those filled or fixed.

He said: “The teams are out there to get more potholes assessed but then we’re also really beginning to plough in to get those repairs done.”

A driver slammed Bucks roads after 'dangerous' pothole left her out of pocket (Image: Anonymous)

The lead member also said they are seeing many potholes because of the aftereffects of the winter and the programme has been affected by the rain. Members were told gritters are still being sent out because temperatures are still falling down – despite the winter season-ending.

Cllr Thomas Hogg (Con: Stoke Poges & Wexham) said this council was “going the extra mile” in fixing its roads by dipping into its reserves but it “needs to go further”.

He suggested that new income sources, such as charging residents for garden waste collections, should be explored to invest in and maintain the roads in Bucks.

The leader replied: “Is there clearly a financial challenge on the roads? Yes, there is. Let’s be frank about it.

READ MORE: Chesham: Whelpley Hill pothole damages woman's car

“We will be always struggling to fund the roads as much as required to meet the level that many residents quite reasonably expect in terms of the roads.

“And that’s true of virtually every council in the country that has a highways authority responsibility. It’s a massive cost.

“My personal belief is quite frankly that as a country under every administration of every colour, we have underfunded our transport infrastructure for decades now and I would that it is one of the key things that national government has to face up to.”

He also said setting up new income streams is “not simple”, but he wants to set up a working party to come up with ideas for new income generation.