Roads improved in Swansea with extra million pound investment

Plans to invest an extra £1 million into highway improvements have been agreed in Swansea.

The funding has been approved as part of Swansea Council’s recent budget for 2016/17 and has meant that £1million will be transferred from the council’s insurance budget and ploughed into highway and footway schemes instead.

The money will go towards specific highway and footway schemes across the city and comes on the back of recent schemes including a pavement renewal scheme completed in Llanrhidian.

Grayson Richards, Llanrhidian Holiday Park Manager complimented the improvements which were completed in December. He said: “The new pavements have certainly made it safer for locals and holiday visitors who are walking from the caravan park to the village of Llanrhidian.

“The previous pavement surface was quite badly damaged and could be difficult to walk along.

“The hedgerow has also been cut back and means walkers are not being forced onto the road.

“It’s made a real improvement to the walking route.”

In previous years, the additional funding has been used to improve roads and pavements in Townhill, Bonymaen and Llansamlet.

The extra money has partly come about because of the council’s success rate in combatting non-personal and personal injury claims relating to highway defects. In 2015, £203,000 was paid out to the public compared with ten years ago when the council paid out £331,000.

David Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “The additional funding will enable the council to carry out even more improvements to the city’s highway network.

“By investing in our roads and pavements we have been able to significantly reduce the level of pay-outs we make through insurance claims.”

The council will also be embarking on its annual PATCH highway repair programme which starts in April and will involve highway repair teams visiting all 32 wards in the city for up to two weeks in each ward.

Cllr Hopkins added: “The PATCH programme is a great way in which we can target the worst defects in every ward and ensure our roads are in a good state.”