'Amber' rating over how area tackles potholes

NEW GOVERNMENT SYSTEM JUDGES COUNCIL'S EFFICIENCY IN SPENDING FUNDING ON THE PROBLEMS

- By ABIGAIL MARLOW Local Democracy Reporter

Kirklees contractors fixing potholes

KIRKLEES Council has been given an “amber” rating in a new government system ranking how well local authorities tackle potholes.

The new ratings rank local highways authorities as red, amber or green based on current road conditions and how effectively they are spending government funding to fix potholes and invest in long term measures to maintain roads. Kirklees was given an overall rating of amber, as well as amber for the condition of its roads and for how well it adopts best practice. But the local authority secured a green rating for how it is spending the government's investment.

Elsewhere in Yorkshire and the Humber, Leeds and Rotherham were scored as green overall for demonstrating that they follow best practice such as investing in more long-term preventative measures rather than just patching up potholes, while also maintaining good road conditions and investing significantly in improving local roads.