Work has begun on repairing the many potholes in Castle Point. This is good news, and some roads are beginning to look quite smart. Labour in Castle Point hopes that these long awaited repairs are being done with quality, rather than cheapness, in mind otherwise the problem will soon recur.

Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate has welcomed the repairs, and also welcomes the funding promised in this week’s Budget for repairing potholes.

Julian said “This winter was obviously very cold, the coldest for many years. Whilst I believe that much of the blame for the state of the roads in Castle Point is down to neglect, the coldest winter for thirty years did not help.”

“The Chancellor has announced an extra £100 million funding for local authorities to help put the damage right” added Julian, “Rapid and decisive action to ensure that our roads are in the best possible condition before next winter.”

To make sure it is spent on our roads, the money will be ring-fenced, with each local authority publishing a brief report on the work they’ve carried out with the funding.

This means the funding will go where it should go – to plug the potholes.  The Labour Government will be able to make sure that Castle Point has made the repairs properly and spent the money wisely.

Labour has recently announced plans to make sure utility companies repair roads properly after carrying out their work.

All this comes on top of a trebling in Labour’s investment for local road maintenance over the past decade – up from £265 million in 2000/01 to £809 million in 2010/11.

Julian added “I think we must also look forward so as to avoid sudden deterioration in road conditions in the future.  Labour will be encouraging local authorities to focus on longer term resurfacing and maintenance work. Short-term savings can prove costly in the long run.”

All this demonstrates that when things go wrong, Labour is on your side. Taking the decisions in the interest of the many and not the few and working to make the road ahead as smooth as possible.