Clwyd South AM Ken Skates welcomes £4m Welsh Government funding pot to fix potholes

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates has welcomed crucial Welsh Government investment of almost £4m to improve the state of roads across North East Wales.

Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services, Alun Davies, recently committed the cash to fixing potholes throughout the region. The windfall includes £1.4m for Wrexham, which according to Welsh Government statistics has the worst roads in North Wales.

In total an extra £7.9m will be spent in North Wales, which includes £1,427,33 for Wrexham; £1,204,380 for Denbighshire and £1,427,133 for Flintshire.

Mr Skates, whose constituency includes Wrexham and Denbighshire, said: “Budgets remain extremely stretched because of the cruel and relentless Tory austerity agenda which has seen more than £1.4bn snatched from Wales by Westminster since 2010.
“Within that context, I’m delighted that the Welsh Labour Government has secured this significant investment in North East Wales to help fix our roads. The winter has been very damaging for our road network and it’s important that it’s rectified quickly.”

Mr Skates also welcomed ‘rapidly progressing’ plans to tackle congestion on the A483 and at Halton Roundabout near Chirk. Both will be addressed within three years.

The latest tranche of Welsh Government funding for roads will be administered by local councils. Figures released in February 2017 showed Wrexham council’s roads were rated as the worst in North Wales – while neighbouring Flintshire’s were the best.

Mr Davies said: “In my discussions with local government, they have been clear about the pressures on the road network and how in some parts of Wales the state of local roads is simply not up to a safe standard. I am really pleased to be able to make this funding available to support a comprehensive refurbishment programme and improve future resilience of the roads network.”

Welsh Local Government Spokesman for Transport, Andrew Morgan, said: “We are grateful to Welsh Government for listening to our calls for further funding to maintain the highway network. Residents, businesses and tourists across Wales rely on our roads on a daily basis and so it is vital to ensure that they are in a good condition.”