A resident has told Richmond Council that its roads are among the worst in England, warning that the share rated amber or red has risen from 35% to 41%.
John Rawls raised the issue at the council’s Transport and Air Quality Committee. A government transparency report had rated Richmond Council’s road quality as “amber”, raising concerns among residents about the condition of local roads.
He pointed to analysis by The Times which, he said, ranked Richmond as having the second-worst roads in England, behind only Derbyshire.
Mr Rawls said there are no specific targets for road quality in the council’s performance indicators. He argued that without reliable, up-to-date information, residents and councillors cannot judge the true state of the roads or make sure investment goes where it is needed. The council is reviewing its key performance indicators to bring them in line with those used by other councils.
The spending figures are also disputed. A councillor claimed the administration had increased spending on road and pavement maintenance from £1.6 million to £2.6 million a year. But Mr Rawls disputed this, arguing that the figures were presented misleadingly and that spending had first been cut.
Responding to the concerns, a councillor clarified the council’s road network was rated “red” because of historic underinvestment, but its programme to tackle this was rated “green”. The councillor said this gave the borough an overall “amber” status, not “red” as suggested by the transparency report.
A councillor said that fixing the underinvestment needs a systemic investment programme over a “seven to seven and a half to a ten year” period to improve roads and pavements. Previous administrations’ road maintenance efforts were described as “slapping plasters” compared with the current long-term plan.
The committee agreed to the recommendations set out in the report.
