Powys roads budget slashed by £2.6 million
A decision has been made to take £2.6 million away from this year's road, bridge and street lighting repairs budget in Powys.
But the money should be available to be used in the future as part of the funding for the Highways Asset Management Plan (HAMP), in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years.
It is a cost-cutting measure being implemented to protect the council’s finances during the Covid-19 pandemic in a bid to ensure this year's budget comes in on target.
Head of finance at Powys Council Council, Jane Thomas, has asked all services to look again at their building projects and make savings where they can.
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The money forms forms part of an overall 10-year programme worth over £50m to deal with infrastructure maintenance, which was approved in February.
The report to cabinet said that investment of £10m a year is needed to “improve the condition of the network and work towards the Welsh road condition average.”
Councillor Heulwen Hulme, portfolio holder for environment, said: “Going back to last February, we set out our capital strategy for highways for the next 10 years.
“Whilst the £5m HAMP, approved by Cabinet and set out in the capital strategy, will slow the rate of the deterioration.
“It will nonetheless continue to deteriorate, and the service’s road condition performance indicator will continue to widen from the Welsh average.
“Powys is currently ranked 22nd (of 22 Welsh local authorities) for its road conditions.
“We have a number of bridge structures that are in need of work”
One of the bridges is at Glasbury and carries the A438 across the river Wye .
It will need to be replaced in the next five to eight years at the cost estimate of over £6 million.
Councillor Hulme also pointed out that emergency work to repair damage to multiple structures caused by flash flooding last month on the B4355 between Dutlas and Lloyney had started.
The changes leaves the HAMP programme with £2.4m in the pot for this year but an extra £1.5m in grant funding from the Welsh Government takes it up to £3.9m.
The £2.6m will be pushed through, with £1.3m to be used by the service in 2021/22 and the other £1.3m in 2022/23.
Nigel Brinn, director of environment and economy, added: “The service has requested that the balance of the underspend funds takes into account delayed works and gets rolled forward.
“It’s right that we look at in relation to the overall capital programme.”
