Oxfordshire Greens lobby Government for £20bn roads reset

North and West Oxfordshire politicians penned the letter to transport minister Heidi Alexander, who incidentally was a victim of one of Oxfordshire’s potholes last month.

The detailed proposals ask for a £20bn investment in repairs and reinstatement of roads across the country, and particularly in Oxfordshire.

The councillors have made the case that the recently announced additional funding for tackling potholes is not enough overall and the share that Oxfordshire will receive will not be sufficient.

Councillors have also invited Ms Alexander to visit Oxfordshire to see for herself the state of Oxfordshire’s roads, not just on the B4437 outside Burford which punctured a tyre of her Mini.

Councillor Ian Middleton (Image: Ian Middleton)

Green group county and Cherwell district leader Ian Middleton said: “After years of neglect and underfunding by successive governments, we now need definitive action and proper funding to deal with the state of our roads and footpaths.

“Government financial input to the County budget for road maintenance is simply not at a level that is sustainable in the long term, and the result is a continued deterioration year on year.

READ MORE: Cyclist sexually assaults woman in ride-by attack

“We are now literally patching the patches, and after another winter of bad weather coupled with an increase in heavier vehicles, our roads are now in a state of total collapse that local authorities are not equipped or funded to deal with.

“We need a financial commitment from central government to facilitate an urgent roads reset.”

Rosie Pearson of the West Oxfordshire Greens (Image: Rosie Pearson)

West Oxfordshire District Council Green group leader Rosie Pearson added: “Many of us have suffered from damage and frustration from the state of our roads, especially after January’s severe weather.

“Nobody thinks this is acceptable. The Green Party approach is to look at the underlying causes of a problem, in order to find a permanent fix.”

North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Liz Reason said the cause of potholes needs to be tackled in a “systemic” way.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander (Image: Yui Mok/PA)

And North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Barry Wheatley added: “Years of patch-and-pray repairs have left our roads crumbling – damaging vehicles and putting pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at risk.

“It’s time for government and Oxfordshire to stop papering over the cracks and invest in roads built to last.”

Oxfordshire County Council has started repairs of 87 roads as part of its £8m improvement programme.

The now former transport chief Andrew Gant said in March: “Reactive pothole repairs are expensive and inefficient.

“Preventative maintenance, such as surface dressing, is far better value and stops potholes forming in the first place.”