IN response to various articles in The Herald, Surrey County Council claims it is not the only authority fighting a losing battle with potholes. According to the council, a recent survey has reported concern for road user safety as local authorities across England and Wales struggle to address the problem with a shortfall of funds totalling £1 billion. The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey found that highway engineers had filled in a total of one million holes at a total cost of £56 million Most shocking of all, the survey revealed that it will take 11 years to clear the backlog of work. But there is good news for Surrey road users. A report presented to the council's executive at the end of March outlined how a budget of £52 million will be spent on highways. The 2007-08 budget will go towards dealing with issues such as flooding, drainage, potholes and street lighting. According to the council, Surrey has twice the national average level of congestion with many of its rural tracks, originally designed as cart tracks, having to deal with juggernauts. The council will be spending around £16 million on road issues such as potholes as part of the overall maintenance programme. New potholes say the council appear during the winter, after water freezes in cracks in the road. A further £1.4 million will be allocated to footpath improvements. With £1.3 million being spend on grass cutting, weed treatment and tending to trees and hedges. Andy Roberts, the council's strategic director with responsibility for transportation, said: "The highways are so important to us and our residens that we are separating them from all the other transport issues to give them our full attention. "We have also been listening to the public and are responding by putting into out budgt for next year the things they want to see happening, and setting them out in a clear, transparent way that everyone can understand. This includes naming individual schemes that are due to be implemented." To try and rectify road issues, the council has established a new dedicated service - the Surrey Highways Service - to try and keep the county's potholes under control. The council has also introduced community highways officers (CHOs). CHOs will work alongside county councillors, parish councils, resident associations and members of the public to identify what needs doing and to implement a resolution. They will also target utility and cable companies, who between them dig up Surrey's roads over 40,000 times per year. The council has the right to charge inspection fees and levy fines against companies to ensure their work matches the council's existing standards. According to the coucil flooding and drainage issues are being addressed with a package of measures to tackle the problems head-on. These include spending an extra £1 million above last year's expenditure. There will be more gully cleaning and jetting. The increased budget will allow more frequent use of Vactor units - the extra strength jetting machine used for problematic blockages. Just over £7 million is being allocated to maintenance and replacement of damaged street lights and faulty illuminated signs. "This is not just about extra money, it is also about new ways of working. We will be focusing more on our customers and responding to their needs," continued Mr Roberts. According to the council, it has a regular inspection regime for all its roads. But it says, if potholes develop between inspections they are dependent on their own staff and contractors or members of the public spotting them. If anyone spots a pothole and wishes to report it, they should contact Surrey County Council on 08456 009 009 or visit thewebsite at http://www.surreycountycouncil.gov.uk/roads">www.surreycountycouncil.gov.uk/roads and complete the on-line report form. The pothole will be assess and priortised according to its severity. The length of time it takes to fix a pothole depends on the likely risk to the public, based on its size and location. If particularly hazardous safty steps will be taken to rectify the problem as quickly as possible. Otherwise, to make a pothole safe and repair it will take up to 28 days.
