REVEALED: All of the extra roads to be resurfaced in Preston, Chorley and South Ribble this year - but is Preston being shortchanged?

It comes after County Hall received more money than it was expecting from the government for upkeep of the region’s roads.

Highways bosses last month laid out their maintenance plans for the year ahead on the assumption that they would get a reduced £20.1m settlement from the Department for Transport (DfT) for 2022/23. However, the authority learned just days beforehand that it would once again be handed the £28m that it was allocated last year.

Cabinet members have now approved a list of extra schemes to go with the 76 that they had already agreed - but Preston has been earmarked for just one of the additional projects to be funded by the windfall.

That will see £42,000 spent on resurfacing parts of Ribblesdale Drive and Preston Road in Grimsargh.

Preston also featured just twice in the first tranche of works announced last month. Although one of those schemes was amongst the biggest programmed anywhere in the county - the £194,000 ‘surface dressing’ of a stretch of Blackpool Road - it means that the city will, overall, see just three “new start” resurfacing or surface dressing projects in the coming year, fewer than any of Lancashire's 12 districts.

As the Lancashire Post revealed at the time, the city was also lined up for the most expensive pavement repair in the county - a £303,000 upgrade to the footpaths on both sides of Watling Street Road in Fulwood, between the junctions of Eastway and Sir Tom Finney Way. That is more than is being spent almost any of the road resurfacing schemes planned county-wide over the next year.

However, comments on the Post’s Facebook page have suggested motorists believe that it is the carriageway of Watling Street Road that is more badly in need of relaying than the kerbside.

At a recent cabinet meeting where the new projects were approved, Labour opposition group leader Azhar Ali welcomed the investment, but said that there were roads across the county that were now “absolutely shot” - and asked what the future was for streets that “keep getting missed off [the list of repairs] year after year”.

However, cabinet member for highways and transport Charlie Edwards defended the authority’s strategy for deciding which routes should be prioritised for work.

“All of the schemes that were put forward by individual [councillors], members of the public or by our own highways engineers…go through a ranking process and it's done very much based on the evidence and the approach that we’ve got. The ones that met the criteria the most…were the ones [selected].

“I just think it's really important that we stick to the methodology and a decision-making process where this is always the case. I think by following the evidence...you do end up with a much fairer system [compared to the one that] some authorities still sadly have which is whoever shouts the loudest gets their road done - and I think that’s an extremely inequitable way to run a department and it's certainly not a professional way to run a local government organisation in the 21st century."

He added that County Hall’s approach had once again seen it given the highest rating by the DfT for good use of its resources - meaning that its £28m maintenance fund allocation includes an extra £3.2m which was sent Lancashire’s way in recognition of how it spends its highways repair money.

“Everything that we spend is going to be to make sure that we get the absolute most that we possibly can for every part of Lancashire,” County Cllr Edwards said.

Elsewhere in Central Lancashire, Chorley - which was already earmarked for £940,000 worth of repairs across 16 routes in the borough - will see another five schemes carried out after the allocation of the additional money, totalling a further £293,000.

South Ribble, which secured more than £450,000 of repairs to 21 roads in the first funding round last month, will get a single new £17,000 project added to tits list.

(Scroll down for details of all the schemes).

Lancashire County Council told the Post that Preston had the fourth-largest amount spent on its A, B and C routes out of the dozen districts in the county between 2017 and 2021, with £14,500 invested per kilometre.

A spokesperson added that the authority’s priority was to “improve the overall condition of roads, bridges, streetlights and other transport infrastructure, making the best use of the funding available”.

"We use data collected from surveys to monitor condition, which we use to target the right type of maintenance at the right time, before more expensive and time-consuming work is needed.

"This approach can be summed up as 'prevention is better than cure' and provides better value for money than only repairing the 'worst first'- it also means that we are assessed as being in the top performing tier of councils by the Department for Transport and receive more funding to invest in our roads.

"We allocate funding based on need rather than geography which means that the amount we invest within each district varies from year to year. As some districts cover a bigger area than others, and vary widely in geography, factors such as road length and the strategic importance of roads within the area play a big part in the maintenance needs of each district.

"This year, we are planning to spend around £919,000 on maintaining roads in Preston, with further investment in other infrastructure such as streetlights and bridges,” the spokesperson said.

The county council’s budget for pre-planned repairs is largely in addition to that allocated for fixing structural defects that emerge during the year, should they meet the authority’s criteria. County Hall will attend to a carriageway pothole only if it is over 40mm deep.

Papers presented to the cabinet state that “actual expenditure will reflect operational demand” - with an expectation that £10m will be required for reactive repairs during 2022/23.

That total will be made up of £2m from the DfT’s highways maintenance grant, a further £2m for “responsive maintenance” agreed when the county council set its budget back in February and £6m either from other funding within the capital programme or, as a last resort, prudential borrowing.

Members were also told that a £3m local deterioration fund - which will cover the cost of some of the smaller-scale planned projects - will be topsliced to the tune of £1.3m to create a contingency pot to deal with any issues that emerge within the proposed programme or at other locations.

Lancashire's long-term plan for keeping its roads in good condition is currently focusing its attention o unclassified, often residential, streets, having made main routes the priority during the first five years of the strategy from 2014.

CUTTING THE CARBON FROM LANCASHIRE’S ROAD REPAIRS

Lancashire County Council will aim to choose the lowest carbon options for maintaining the road network, after drawing up a plan to decarbonise its highways activities.

Staff will be trained to calculate carbon output across the life cycle of a project and make decisions accordingly.

Specific suggestions outlined in the strategy, which has been given the green light by the authority’s cabinet, include use of reflective - rather than internally-lit - bollards, deployment of drones to carry out bridge inspections and a shift to electric vehicles, where possible, within the highways fleet.

Energy efficiency audits will be carried out at highways depots, which will aim for net zero carbon output, along with County Hall’s fleet operations.

Cabinet member for highways and transport Charlie Edwards said that the policy was ”ahead of its time” and should be applauded.

Efforts already made by the authority include the - almost completed - conversion of all 152,000 Lancashire streetlights to LED bulbs.

Cabinet member for economic development and growth Aidy Riggott said that staff had already shown that they were passionate about the carbon reduction plans.

IN NUMBERS

£3m - main, A, B and C roads

£2.3m - rural unclassified roads

£6.6m - urban unclassified roads

£1m - footways

£3.5m - bridges and structures

£1.2m - street lighting

£600K - traffic signals

Source: Lancashire County Council’s updated new starts highways capital programme, 2022/23

WHAT’S HAPPENING WHERE?

All of the additional maintenance works planned, in the form: road name – county council division – nature and exact location of the work

BURNLEY

Arbories Avenue - Padiham and Burnley West - resurfacing full length

Lindsay Street - Burnley North East - resurfacing from Church Street to the end of the road

Brownhill Avenue - Burnley Central East - resurfacing from Brunshaw Road to Carholme Avenue

Springfield Road - Burnley Rural - resurfacing from Hollingreave Road to Marlborough Street

CHORLEY

B6228 Lyons Lane - Chorley North - resurfacing between Worthy Street and Shepherds Way

Shakespeare Terrace - Chorley North - surface dressing multi-treatment of Shakespeare Terrace from Thornhill to house no.54; Willow Road from Harpers Lane to Thornhill Road; Larch Avenue from Thornhill Road to Northgate Drive; Beaconsfield Terrace from Shakespeare Terrace to Wordsworth Terrace; Wordsworth Terrace from Beaconsfield Terrace to Shakespeare Terrace; Thornhill Drive full loop; Birch Avenue full length; Chestnut Avenue full length; Cedar Road full length; Elm Grove; full length

The Common/Castle Drive - Chorley Rural East - surface dressing of The Common from Old School Lane to the A6; and the full length of Castle Drive

Queens Road - Chorley Central -surface dressing from Southport Road to the A581

B6227 Railway Road - Chorley Rural East - resurfacing from the 3 Talking Heads hair salon to just before the roundabout

FYLDE

A583 Blackpool Road/Kirkham Bypass - Fylde East - surface dressing from Freckleton Road traffic lights to Victoria Railway Bridge

Sydney Street - St Annes South - resurfacing full length

Kirkgate - Fylde East - resurfacing from just after Poulton Street to Marsden Street

Thompson Street/Charnock Streeet/Railway Terrace - Fylde East - resurfacing Thompson Street from Station Road to Charnock Street and the full lengths of Charnock Street and Railway Terrace

St Annes Road North - St Annes North and St Annes South - resurfacing from The Crescent to house no.27

Westgate Road/Martin Avenue - St Annes North - surface dressing full length of Westgate Road and Martin Avenue from Westgate to the football club entrance

Clarendon Road North and surrounding roads - St Annes North and St Annes South - surface dressing Clarendon Road North from St Annes Road East to Headroom Gate; Ramsgate from Crossland Road North to Clarendon Road North; Margate from Clarendon Road North to Folkstone Road North; Dover Road from Margate to Ramsgate; Walmer Road from Ramsgate to Folkstone Road; Sheppard Road North from Ramsgate to St Annes Road East

Smithy Lane - Fylde West - surface dressing from Mill Lane to Fairfield Lane

Bartle Road - St Annes South - resurfacing from Singleton Avenue to the new resurfacing

Beach Street - Lytham - resurfacing full length

HYNDBURN

West Street - Great Harwood, Rishton and Clayton-le-Moors - resurfacing from Blackburn Road to Hanson Street

Pickup Street - Accrington West and Oswaldtwistle Central - resurfacing from Spring Hill Road South to the end of Pickup Street (Clifton Mill Gates)

Victor Street - Great Harwood, Rishton and Clayton-le-Moors - resurfacing from George Street to Pickup Street

Elm Street Great - Harwood, Rishton and Clayton-le-Moors - resurfacing full length

Clarence Road - Accrington West and Oswaldtwistle Central - resurfacing full length

Pickup Street - Great Harwood, Rishton and Clayton-le-Moors - resurfacing from Barnes Square to Whalley Road

LANCASTER

A683 Bay Gateway - Morecambe North, Skerton, and Morecambe South - surface preservation work from Caton Road to Northgate (excluding roundabouts)

Beaufort Road - Morecambe North - resurfacing from Broadway to outside no.70

Northumberland Street - Morecambe Central - resurfacing from Central Drive to Marine Road Central, including Bath Street

Eskdale Place - Morecambe South - resurfacing full length

Pennine View - Morecambe Central - resurfacing full length

Long Marsh Lane - Lancaster Central - resurfacing from West Road to Mallard Court

Charnley Street/Briery Street/Ford Street - Lancaster Central - resurfacing full lengths of each

New Quay Road - Lancaster Central - resurfacing from St Georges Quay to the substation

Royds Grove - Heysham - resurfacing full length

Parkside - Morecambe South - resurfacing from Altham Road to house no.10

PENDLE

A56 Skipton New Road - Pendle Rural - surface dressing from outside Green Fells House to new surfacing outside no.49 Bankhouse and from the new surfacing finish point at the 40mph sign to previous surface dressing finish point

Kirby Road - Brierfield and Nelson West - resurfacing from Churchill Way to outside no.14

Spring Street - Brierfield and Nelson West - resurfacing in Manchester Road area

Allendale Street - Pendle Central - resurfacing from Vincent Street to Lilac Street

Craven Street - Pendle Rural - resurfacing full length

Walverden Crescent - Nelson East - resurfacing full length

Railway Street - Nelson East - resurfacing from Waidshouse Road to the end of the road

Kings Causeway - Pendle Hill - resurfacing at junction with Halifax Road

Stone Edge Road - Pendle Hill - resurfacing from Mitton Avenue to Barnoldswick Road

Skipton Road - Pendle Rural - resurfacing and renewal of anti-skid surface on approaches to the mini roundabout

PRESTON

Ribblesdale Drive/Preston Road - Preston Rural - resurfacing Ribblesdale Drive from Preston Road to just past Moss Nook Drive; and Preston Road from near Bridge House to just after Ribblesdale Drive

RIBBLE VALLEY

B6243 Edisford Road - Clitheroe - resurfacing from Roefield leisure centre entrance to lighting column 45

Lowmoor Way - Clitheroe - resurfacing from Union Street to High Street

Little Lane - Longridge with Bowland - resurfacing from Kestor Lane to Fell Brow

Ely Close - Ribble Valley South West - resurfacing full length

Lowmoor Way - Clitheroe - resurfacing from Union Street to Nelson Street

Barker Lane - Ribble Valley South West - resurfacing full length

ROSSENDALE

Booth Road - Mid Rossendale - resurfacing from John Street to Burnley Road East

Lilac Avenue - Rossendale West - resurfacing full length

Thisltemount Avenue - Mid Rossendale resurfacing full length

Prospect Street - Mid Rossendale and Rossendale East - resurfacing from Burnley Road East to Wales Road

Stubbins Vale Road - Rossendale South - surface dressing from Stubbins Street to farm cottages

Chatterton Road - Rossendale South - surface dressing from Bolton Road North to the end of the road

Somerset Walk - Rossendale West - resurfacing full length

Bluebell Avenue - Rossendale West - resurfacing from Campion Drive to the end of the road

SOUTH RIBBLE

Fairfax Place - Lostock Hall and Bamber Bridge - resurfacing from Selkirk Drive to the end of the road

WEST LANCASHIRE

B5240 Hall Lane - West Lancashire East - surface dressing from just after the end of the new recent resurfacing at Dicks Lane to Briars Lane

Rutland Crescent - Ormskirk - resurfacing from Ludlow Drive to opposite house no.5

Warpers Moss Close - Burscough and Rufford - resurfacing full length

Delta Park Drive/Hazelwood Drive - West Lancashire North - resurfacing of Delta Park Drive from Chapel Road to Ribble Drive and full length of Hazelwood Drive

County Road service road - Ormskirk - resurfacing from house no.150 to no.124

WYRE

John Street - Cleveleys East - resurfacing full length excluding parking spaces)

The Avenue - Cleveleys South and Carleton - resurfacing from just prior to no.1 to outside no.21

Hillylaid Road - Thornton and Hambleton - resurfacing from just after Diane Road to outside house no.124

Arundel Drive - Cleveleys South and Carleton - surface dressing from Poulton Road to Fleetwood Road

Victoria Street - Fleetwood East - surface dressing from Mount Road to Queens Terrace

Princes Way - Fleetwood West and Cleveleys West - resurfacing from house no.69 to no.50

Broadway - Fleetwood West and Cleveleys West - resurfacing from Larkholme Lane to house no,197

Fairway - Fleetwood West and Cleveleys West - from Chatsworth Avenue to No.1 Marine Parade

Alder Grove - Poulton-Le-Fylde - resurfacing from Carr Head Lane to the end of the road