A BID to see a “highways emergency” declared in Essex has failed after a Colchester councillor described the city centre as “a death trap for pedestrians”.
Lee Scordis, Essex county councillor for Abbey division, put forward a Labour-led motion calling for the council to request urgent funding to repair the county’s roads and pavements.
He said: “I rise to call for Essex to declare the first Highways emergency in the UK and for funding to be sought to reverse the dangerous policy of managed decline being pursued by the current administration.”
In October, a budget statement from Essex County Council revealed it is investing less than half of the amount needed to correctly maintain its roads, footways, street lighting and other public rights of way.
It was also outlined the council no longer has a revenue budget for potholes, meaning they are now entirely reliant on the Department for Transport’s pothole fund and capital maintenance allocation.
The statement revealed the assets, including roads and footways, are in "managed decline", as Essex County Council is investing £36.675 million per year of the £77 million required to maintain the assets.
Addressing a meeting of the full council on Tuesday, Mr Scordis said: “Anyone who has been out there has seen how dangerous some of our pavements and roads are.
“Colchester city centre is a death trap for pedestrians, while estate roads are a game of spot the bits of road rather than spot the pothole.
“Now we’re talking about not even managing to stand still, it’s actually going to get worse.”
He added: “Paving slabs sticking up as a major trip hazard, kerb stones missing and potholes ignored.
“I dread to think of how much worse it can get.
“Councillor Scott always says how he has seen plenty of places with worse roads than Essex and it’s nice to know he has holidays in Baghdad, Helmand Province and Syria, but residents tell me they know when they’re back in Essex, as the road surface soon becomes apparent.”
Some Conservative councillors opposed to the motion questioned whether such repairs are currently a priority for residents.
Jaymey McIvor, councillor for Ongar and Rural, questioned why Labour would table the motion during a cost of living crisis.
“The people of Essex send us here to make sure the priorities of the people of Essex are dealt with,” he said.
“Right now, the priorities are not potholes, it’s dealing with the cost of living.”
He praised the council’s highways department, adding: “When we go to bed of an evening there are bright yellow lights and orange cones across this county keeping our county moving.
“Of course our highways our repaired.
“I’d like to recognise the success of the member-led potholes scheme in my division and many of our divisions.”
Lewis Barber, councillor for Constable, said the council is looking towards innovative ways of maintaining roads, including a new surface material which better withstands heat and the use of drones to monitor for defects.
He said: “There is inflation, the cost of raw materials going up and therefore we do have challenges and I think as certainly everyone on this side of the chamber would acknowledge that.”
Holly Whitbread, councillor for Epping and Theydon Bois, accused the Labour group of “living in a parallel universe”, calling the motion “out of touch” with the economic challenges faced by the council and the country.
“This motion is purely about political point scoring and I’m sure it will look great on your next leaflet,” she said.
“It shows naivety about the wide-ranging and complex services this council delivers, including supporting the most vulnerable adults and children in the county.”
Labour members hit back, including Pitsea councillor Aidan McGurran, who accused Tory councillors of being “out of touch” with residents’ priorities.
He said: “I don’t know which residents you’re talking to, but if the state of our roads and potholes doesn’t come up I would be absolutely staggered.
“It really is coming to something when the council’s own Highways department describes what’s going on with the state of our roads as managed decline.
“Think about that for a moment. Managed decline of our roads, one of the most basic services it is our duty to provide.”
Lee Scott, councillor responsible for highways, told the council new initiatives around footway repairs are being explored.
He said: "It’s not a question of managed decline, if something is dangerous we will fix it.
"We will not leave something that is dangerous.
"If it’s cosmetic, I cannot make that promise.
"We’ve heard from councillor Holly Whitbread, quite rightly, that if I had to choose - forget the facts of my portfolio - between an elderly person's life, a child's life, or a pothole, I’ve got to tell you I’m going for the person, not the pothole.
"That’s what we should do as caring people, caring councillors here to represent all of our residents."
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