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George Hollingbery
Fighting for
Meon Valley
I believe that Britain needs change, not more of the same.
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 Roads and Pavements
Whenever I’m out talking to people, it is these two issues that come up time and again.
From the access issues in Whiteley to the new A3 bus corridor and pavements everywhere, no-one thinks things are good enough. Looking around for even half a moment it’s difficult to disagree, particularly where pavements are concerned.
Of course this all comes down to one thing and one thing alone, money.
The County Council is, for the most part, in charge of roads and pavements. Like everyone else, they have a finite pot of funds available for all their areas of work from schools to social services and roads, pavements, libraries, waste management and a host of other activities.
With a level of Government support of one third the amount that is given to other areas such as those in Labour’s heartlands in the north, it’s not difficult to understand that money is very tight. The only other place the County Council can raise cash is from you via the Council Tax and clearly no-one wants to increase that burden any more than absolutely necessary.
The consequence is that those areas regarded as front line services where a lack of provision will directly affect people’s lives on a daily basis are prioritised. So money has gone on things like 500 new nursing home beds, improvement of existing care home facilities and the new Children’s Centres that all secondary schools now have to provide.
The good news is that careful management of last year's County Council budget has produced £3 million savings to invest in highways. £2 million of it will go on extra highways maintenance, filling in more potholes and doing more resurfacing, especially on our C and unclassified roads in country areas.
£300,000 is earmarked for highways drainage improvements to cope with the effects of climate change and the heavier rainfall which it brings while a further £300,000 will be used to complete the Village 30 schemes to give a 30 mph speed limit to those villages still wanting one and which meet the criteria.
None of this changes the fact that our roads and pavements will always need some work and I work hard to try and make representations on your behalf when problems are drawn to my attention.
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