Flintshire residents face delays in road resurfacing amid limited funding

Residents in Flintshire with A and B roads in poor condition face a wait for resurfacing work to take place.

Back in September, Argoed and New Brighton Cllr Hilary McGuill (Lib Dem) brought a petition to a full meeting of Flintshire Council, on behalf of residents in the Heol Fammau and Moel Gron areas of Mynydd Isa in her ward.

It requested that urgent highways resurfacing be carried out there, with Cllr McGuill adding that during a 60-year period the roads had only been patched and were now desperately in need of proper resurfacing.

Petitions are made at full council meetings throughout the year, with responses provided at the last full council meeting of the year – the annual general meeting which takes place next week on Thursday, May 4.

The response from the council to Cllr McGuill’s petition explains that funding is limited for full repairs, and even patching work – and that there is a backlog of roads in the county waiting for similar repairs.

It reads: “The council have undertaken a technical assessment and engaged with suppliers to best identify the appropriate treatment for this road and the road is being assessed in accordance with the prioritisation matrix of identified sites, which is currently taking place.

“The council has a limited budget for resurfacing, and there are a number of A and B roads across the county that have been identified as requiring treatment.

“These roads perform an important role in regional travel, and it is essential that the small budget available to us is used to maintain their condition for traffic, based on their strategic importance to the overall council objectives.
“The funding available to the council for highway resurfacing is limited and is inadequate compared to the overall backlog of repairs required across the network.

“Unfortunately, there is insufficient funding available to deal with the backlog of roads that require treatment, and we very much share the frustration around the condition of some roads, particularly in urban housing estate roads, across the county.”

The response adds: “A limited amount of budget has been allocated for machine patching works, and the area coordinator will consider these roads for possible inclusion in this programme, should they be suitable for this type of repair.

“This would mean that the worst areas would be cut out and re-laid, but similarly the resources and funding available to do this are also limited.

“The grant funding schemes available via Welsh Government in relation to highways are for active travel and not for maintenance works, and therefore, at this time, we are not able to acquire any further budget beyond the limited resources currently available.

“As soon as the exercise to identify roads for resurfacing and patching has been completed, the 2023/24 programmes will be published on our website and shared with the ward members.

“Unfortunately, this petition and the intention behind it, does not allow us to depart from the established policy for highway asset maintenance and the need to ensure that we gain the maximum benefit from the limit funding available.”

By Rory Sheehan – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).