GREEN Party councillors at County Hall have accused highways chiefs of ‘failing Worcestershire residents’ after the authority won a paltry £50,000 from the Department of Transport’s (DfT) Capability Fund.
Despite an average award of £225,000, only Rutland Council – with a population of just 37,000 – had a lower award than Worcestershire, said Green Party Councillor Matthew Jenkins.
However Coun Alan Amos, the county’s highway boss, hailed the ruling Conservative Party’s budget for the next three years as one of ‘boundless ambition and limitless achievement’ which gave residents ‘the choice of how they travel’.
This includes funds to support staffing and resources to draw up plans to promote cycling and walking in their areas.
However Coun Jenkins said the County Council was slow off the mark compared to almost everywhere else in the country to realise ‘putting the private car above any other form of transport had got them nowhere’.
“When the county council fail to win money, they fail residents. Without funding, there are no meaningful improvements to our walking and cycling infrastructure, and with more people living in the city, our roads will become more gridlocked,” he said.
But Coun Amos said the county’s highways and transport network budget was ‘remarkable’ with spending and investment increasing to record levels.
“Whether it’s roads, footways, buses, rail, walking, or cycling we’re expanding capacity to meet the demands of a rapidly growing economy and population.
“We’re not going to close roads, reduce road space or capacity, or remove residents’ parking spaces. We’re going to keep traffic moving, that’s what residents and businesses want and need.”
However he acknowledged congestion remained the biggest concern and said his department had retained a ‘laser-like focus’ on the matter.
Among the budget’s highlights is an extra £6m-a-year for an additional 135miles of road, £4m a year for 108miles of new footpaths, and £1m a year to tackle drainage and flooding matters.
Public transport has also been boosted.
