Grass verges to be cut more often

An extra £5.6m in funding was agreed for highway maintence at a full Lancashire County Council meeting last month.

Now senior councillors in the cabinet will discuss next week how to spend the cash on roads, public spaces and flooding prevention.

An extra £330,000 has been earmarked this year to increase grass cutting from two to four cuts a year on verges alongside high-speed roads, and from five to eight cuts a year in other public areas maintained by the council.

Regular spraying will be also be part of that, to keep down weeds, replacing the current practice of spot treating them, and there will be more maintenance of certain planted beds and borders in city and town centres.

It comes after complaints about scruffy flower beds in town centres.

Also among the spending proposals for roads are £3m for highways maintenance on residential streets; £1m for preventative pothole work and £1m for speedier responses to complaints about road damage which can stop minor problems becoming major ones.

A further £300,000 is set to be allocated for clearing blocked drains and pipes more quickly to prevent flooding.

Coun Keith Iddon, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Lancashire’s roads are vital to our economy, ensuring people and goods can travel efficiently, and it’s essential we prioritise funding accordingly to keep them in good condition. Keeping up public areas is important to everyone’s sense of pride, as well as ensuring visitors and potential investors get a good impression.”