Fund for fixing 'extremely dangerous' roads praised

Millions of pounds set to be spent on repairing roads has been welcomed by a councillor who says his car tyres have been left damaged by potholes.

Calderdale Council is set to spend £15m on repairing more than 500 roads over the next two years.

Councillor Paul Bellenger said the funding news was "absolutely fantastic" and described some roads in the region as "extremely dangerous".

Bellenger said he had been approached by residents about vehicles damaged by poor road conditions and had himself submitted a claim over damage to his vehicle.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the cash from the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement scheme will be spent on roads and other highway infrastructure.

About £12m of the funding is expected to be spent on carriageway resurfacing, road reconstruction and repairing walls and bridges.

In April, an investment of nearly £125m to improve roads in the region was agreed by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Speaking at a council meeting, the Liberal Democrat councillor said: "I have three roads that are extremely dangerous to the point where [I've] had to put in a claim for damage to my tyre.

"It's about safety – ensuring that our roads are safe for our constituents to drive on."

He added he hoped the cash would be spent "fairly and widely" throughout the whole borough, not just "some" parts of it.

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