Shropshire Council elections: Tories vow to spend £21 million on the roads
Conservatives say they are committed to investing £21 million in the county's road network if they are elected to run Shropshire Council this May.
Unveiling their manifesto for the forthcoming local government elections the Conservative group said the council would also supply cheaper energy to local residents – cutting costs up to five to 10 per cent below energy company SSE's standard tariff.
Malcolm Pate, the Conservative group leader, said the group is looking to make the council a more commercial organisation.
Speaking at the launch of the manifesto he said: "Like much of the public sector, Shropshire Council still has significant funding challenges.
"The Conservatives are, however, taking the council down a better commercial path, which will ensure we can continue to deliver services to the young, the elderly and the vulnerable people of Shropshire.
"We have developed both a new industrial grown strategy and a digital strategy. This will transform the council's performance now and provide long-term financial security.
"In order to ensure delivery of these manifesto promises we have developed a sound corporate plan which clearly shows our objectives and how we will measure our progress in fulfilling them."
The group said they have also secured £11.7 million in funding to continue the roll-out of faster fibre broadband in the county, and are looking to embrace new technology to make maintaining roads as quick and effective as possible.
In 2017/18 they hope to spend a further £1.3 million on repairing potholes.
A jetpatcher and two road masters, set to cost £500,000, will be used in repairing rural roads starting in April.
A new mobile phone app is also in development which will give residents in Shropshire the chance to send information about potholes, fly-tipping, faulty street lamps and other issues directly to the street team.
The manifesto states: "By managing our highway asset and delivering cost effective road improvement, we have been awarded Government Incentive Funding.
"Having now achieved the highest level 3, we are attracting the maximum incentive funding for Shropshire, which allows us to put £1.2 million into fixing local roads."
The Tory manifesto was based around 10 points, including vowing to lobby government to offer a fairer share of funding when it came to health care.
As well as highways, internet connectivity and energy, they have launched "Shropshire Choices", a website to help people make a choice in regards to care homes, and vowed to continue to support young people most at risk.
