Borough named one of worst pothole locations in England to plough £30m into ‘deteriorating’ roads

A multi-million pound programme of works has been confirmed to tackle Knowsley’s ‘deteriorating’ roads.

The news follows on the heels of new research that revealed the borough to be the fifth worst area for potholes in England. The analysis, compiled by Compare the Market, claimed a whopping 64% of roads were deemed damaged.

Freedom of Information data shows that Knowsley Council spent £580k repairing potholes in 2021, however, residents can look forward to improved surfaces in the future as £29.1m is now set to be spent on the borough’s roads. More than 40 separate schemes will be carried out over the coming years on the network as part of a new project.

Funding: The cash comes mainly through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority sustainable travel fund and will be distributed over the next five years.

The projects:

• In 2023/24, £5.6m is due to be spent on a programme of works including £477k for safety schemes and £477k on sustainable travel schemes in Carr Lane, Mill Lane and Saxon Way and includes £100k to be spent on minor pedestrian and cycle infrastructure improvements elsewhere in the borough.
• A further £253k will be spent on minor transport interventions as well as £4.5m on maintenance of key and non-key routes in the borough.
• Alongside that, the council’s £2.7m of revenue funding has been allocated for a range of reactive and routine works on the road network throughout the borough.

What they’re saying: Cllr Tony Brennan said the funding was granted due to the council’s ‘robust approach’ and added that the projects would help economic growth and ’support the quality of life for our residents’.

However, a report on the planned works stated that while the money represented a ‘significant uplift’ in funding for highways works it was still ‘not sufficient’ to address the road maintenance issues in the borough.