Barnsley councillors agree £17m programme of highways works

During today’s (March 23) cabinet meeting, councillors approved the funding – £1.1m of which has come from grants from the Department for Transport, and a further £5.1m is from the city region.

Councillor Chris Lamb, cabinet spokesperson for environment and transportation told the meeting that the borough’s highways are “something that we need to protect, we need to maintain and we need to develop as far as we can.

“As we recover from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, the economic growth aspirations of the council are paramount for the regeneration of Barnsley.

“The proposal in this report underpins those aspirations by utilising these capital resources to improve the current highway asset which will support and attract new business by providing high quality connectivity to jobs and business…… making Barnsley a desirable place for investment.

“The capital allocation supports the highways and engineering services which has a net income budget which generates resources to support the wider service .”

The funding is part of a highways capital programme, which will see the cash allocated to fix roads, footpaths, bridges, street lights, and traffic signs and signals .

A £2m investment has been set aside for for improvements on the borough’s highways.

Councillors can submit proposals for repairs on roads in their wards, which will be considered and prioritised for a share of the funding.

£4.3m will be used to repair road defects such as potholes on council-owned highways.