Lancashire County Council potholes cash row breaks out

The allegation was made by Great Harwood, Rishton, Clayton le Moors and Altham Councillor Noordad Aziz.

It followed an LCC full council meeting when the Conservative majority defeated a Labour move to call on the government to pass on five pence in the pound of petrol duty - equivalent to two pence a litre of fuel - to councils to repair the roads.

Instead the meeting welcomed the government’s Plan for Drivers and promised to integrate it into its own highways policies.

County Cllr Ruper Swarbrick said 'more potholes are being repaired than ever'

Labour's Cllr Aziz also accused the county Tory leadership of ignoring an August Local Government Association report, calling for a 10-year road repair programme paid for by transferring five pence in the pound of fuel duty to councils.

LCC's highways and transport boss Cllr Rupert Swarbrick hit back saying the authority was 'filling more potholes than ever' thanks to extra cash from Whitehall.

Cllr Aziz said: “I am not surprised at the outcome of this LGA study which showed the UK has one of the worst records when it comes to road repairs .

"The state of the roads in Hyndburn and my area of Great Harwood, Rishton, Clayton le Moors and Altham is top of the complaints that I receive from residents.

Cllr Noordad Aziz has blasted the county council

"At the Full Council meeting in December, one of my colleagues asked the cabinet member for highways if the county council would back the recommendations in this report.

"This cash injection could help reverse the decline in road conditions and give local councils the funds to do the job.

“I was amazed he chose to ignore the findings of the report and instead tell me about the extra funds that had been secured in the Spring budget.

"To my dismay, he completely rejected the recommendations and instead chose to praise the government despite the reality that calls on the government to support drivers in Lancashire by devolving five pence in the pound petrol of duty down to councils to repair the roads.

"This cash injection could help reverse the decline in road conditions.

"It would appear the Tories at the county council would rather prop up their failing Conservative government than take action to help the people of Hyndburn and Lancashire."

Cllr Swarbrick said: "Since the LGA published their report, Conservatives in central government have announced an additional £8.3 billion of funding for road maintenance in the north over the next 10 years.

"I very much welcome Lancashire's share of this funding - and it is worth noting this commitment has virtually the same impact as the LGA proposal.

"I remain concerned, however, that Labour councillors cannot tell us whether their proposal would be paid for by a tax rise or by cutting services elsewhere. .

"Under Conservative control, Lancashire County Council is filling more potholes than ever and investing more than ever in our highways network."