During the course of the recent local elections, residents we spoke to time and time again commented on the current state of roads across Surrey Heath.
There were various different statements and claims made by other political parties over the current level of investment by Surrey County Council (SCC) in maintaining our local highways - which have the highest volume of traffic outside of Greater London.
Some of these claims were simply false, and others outright lies, as Independent Councillor Jan Mason states in the video.
The latest budget approved by Surrey County Council Conservatives is for £187.8 million over five years to improve Surrey's roads and pavements.
The budget for 2023/24 is higher than years to follow, with a budget of £69.8 million, as capital investment has been brought forward to directly tackle road deterioration in this financial year.
In each of the following financial years up to 2027/28, there is a budget of £29.5 million allocated for Highways Maintenance.
County Council members will also be keeping their £100,000 fund to allocate for local road improvements in their divisions - something which other parties claimed would be scrapped.
Conservatives at SCC remain committed to improving our roads and Cllr. Kevin Deanus, Cabinet Member for Highways, recently announced a new 'fix and find' strategy where highway teams will be taking a more proactive approach to tackling potholes.
For context, Oxfordshire County Council which is ran by a 'Fair Alliance' coalition of Lib Dems, Labour and Greens, has a highways maintenance budget of £55.2 million for 2023/24, with a reduction to £22.3 million in 2024/25 and a cut to £16.9 million in 2025/26. This represents a reduction of £38.3 million.
Further information on the Budget Meeting at Surrey County Council on 7th February 2023 can be found here.
Video from the Annual General Meeting of Surrey County Council (23/05/23) where there was cross-party condemnation of the Lib Dem's misinformation during the recent local elections.
