Council leader challenged on claims roads are improving in Barnsley

In last week’s full council meeting, Cllr Steve Hunt (Darton East, Liberal Democrats) told the chamber that he couldn’t find a person who would agree with Cllr Steve Houghton about how the roads are improving in the borough.

Cllr Hunt said the Liberal Democrats had suggested purchasing a pothole machine during a meeting in February this year to bring “greater innovation and efficiency” in repairing the roads.

Cllr Steve Hunt (Darton East, Liberal Democrats) said: “During the debate, the Leader of the Council Sir Steve Houghton made the comment that ‘the roads in Barnsley have been improving for a number of years’. I took issue with that statement as it didn’t tally with what I was seeing and feeling when driving around Barnsley.

“During the last few weeks, I have been speaking to residents in Darton East and also in Dodworth, Penistone and across the Kingstone Ward. The issue of our roads came up a lot. I have not found one person who agrees with the leader’s statement.

“I have sought evidence through the Cabinet Member in early March of the maintenance deficit at the end of the last five financial years which would show a trend. I have been told that the current maintenance deficit is £57m but the other information from previous years hasn’t been provided – I’m not sure why.”

Cllr James Higginbottom, the cabinet member for Environment and Highways, told Cllr Hunt that they had a significant investment in Barnsley’s roads this year “in excess of £20m”.

He said: “We continue to explore all options around machinery.

“But ultimately the best and most effective way is spending money on the roads and getting those repairs done – which is what this Labour Council is doing.”

He added, however, that they would “never” have enough resources to resurface every road that needs doing in Barnsley.

In a right to reply, Cllr Steve Houghton, the council leader, told the chamber that “not all Barnsley roads are getting worse – a lot of them are getting better”.

He added they had done some investigation around the pothole machines but “it turns out the pothole machine is not a pothole machine after all – it’s a carriageway patching machine” and it had a very limited range.