'Appalling' county roads despite millions spent

The authority said it was changing its operating model contract

A county's roads have been described as the "worse that they have ever been", despite millions being invested in repairing them.

Councillor Terry James, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at Herefordshire Council, claimed in a full meeting of councillors on Friday that the state of local roads is "appalling".

He said: "Year-on-year we hear the government announcing extra money to fill potholes, etc, and yet it gets worse and worse", putting part of the blame on "a contractor that sends out three vehicles, five men, and fills 12 potholes".

In response, council leader Jonathan Lester confirmed the authority was sourcing a new operating model contract, changing the way of working.

"Why don't we bring it in-house and move to using local businesses and contractors", James added.

"They would do it for a fraction of what it costs us through a national company, and we'd get far better roads in our county."

Lester said: "We look forward to making sure the contractor we appoint does all the things we want it to do.

"I have a more optimistic picture of the state of the roads because we are seeing an unprecedented amount of road resurfacing in Herefordshire – £8m in 2024, compared to £1m in previous years.

"But we have 2,000 miles of roads so there's a lot to do."

Last April, the council announced it would be cutting short its long-term contract with its main public realm contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places, in place since 2013, and intends to have a new contractor in place by June next year.