Coventry would have to spend £150m to bring its roads and footpaths up to a ‘good’ standard, according to a council boss.
Cllr Rachel Lancaster, the city council’s cabinet member for public services, has indicated the cost would be more than 20 times the town hall’s current 12-month budget for road repairs.
While Coventry’s A-roads are recognised as some of the best in the country, Cllr Lancaster said the city faced a significant backlog of repairs.
She also indicated town hall efforts to fix potholes were only due to get ‘more difficult’ thanks to ‘an ever diminishing pot of money for roads in the city’.
The cost of bringing Coventry’s roads to a high standard is thought to stand at £50m, while the council would be forced to shell out at least three times that to upgrade footways.
Coventry City Council said the figure was correct but represented the cost of bringing its roads and footpaths up to perfect condition.
Cllr Lancaster told the Coventry Telegraph: ‘When I became cabinet member we had a backlog of over 700 potholes per week, now on average we have 100 reported from both inspectors and the general public each week and roughly manage to complete the same number.
‘As always it’s a rolling program and it includes all highway repairs, drains and pavements, not just potholes. We currently do not have any reported potholes on the system older that one month.
‘I would say that non A-roads are maintained to a satisfactory standard and that to improve them to a good or better standard would take easily £50m.
‘Add to that footways which cost more, about £100 per square metre, and I could spend £150m easily, but it’s the ongoing preventative maintenance on a yearly basis which extends the lifespan of roads.
‘It’s not enough to bung a new road in then leave it for 40 years,’ she added.
