Council welcomes extra cash for potholes and salt

COUNCIL chiefs in Carmarthenshire have welcomed a £7 million grant from the Welsh Assembly Government to help authorities repair potholes and purchase salt.

The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government Carl Sargeant announced the funding today.

Carmarthenshire County Council will receive a total of £521,429 to spend this financial year.

Mr Sargeant said the money would enable local authorities to take early action to mitigate some of the pressures that another hard winter may present them with.

Since last winter the council has spent approximately £1.5million repairing the county’s roads.

Potholes are caused by severe weather – water in cracks expand into ice, causing the surface of the road to break up and deeper-than-usual potholes.

The council’s executive board member for technical services Councillor Philip Hughes said: “We welcome this extra money from the Welsh Assembly Government, like all local authorities in Wales we already have a substantial highways maintenance backlog and this recent cold snap will undoubtedly put added pressure on already stretched resources.

“The money will be used to target the worst-affected roads.”

Carmarthenshire is in a similar position to other local authorities across Wales with highways repairs running into millions of pounds.

The council’s director of technical services Richard Workman said “Although we greatly appreciate this contribution, clearly it is not enough to address the huge amount of repair work that needs to be carried out in Carmarthenshire.

“We would like to reassure residents that we will continue to direct resources as and when they become available, however, it is going to take time.”