Council sees red over its rating for state of roads

NEW DATA SHOWS DERBYSHIRE STREETS ARE AMONG WORST IN COUNTRY

- By OSCAR FISHER

DERBYSHIRE'S roads are among the worst in the country, according to the government, after a traffic light scoring system was introduced.

The new Department for Transport (DfT) data, which assesses how effectively councils are maintaining their roads, has been criticised by Derbyshire County Council's cabinet member for potholes, Cllr Charlotte Hill, who says the county's red rating "makes no sense at all.

Just 16 local authorities, out of 154, have been given a red rating.

The Burton Mail revealed yesterday that Staffordshire's roads have been rated amber as part of the same process.

The exact criteria for what puts a region in the red zone have not been revealed by the DfT. The rankings are based on three areas - the condition of local roads, how much authorities are spending on repairs, and whether they are following best practice in maintaining highways.