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(Pot)holes in the CBC Budget?

  • Writer: Julian Vaughan
    Julian Vaughan
  • Jan 22
  • 4 min read

Despite many promises over the years, drivers and cyclists in the Central Bedfordshire area will be fully aware of the continuing very poor condition of our roads. Road markings seem to be regarded as an optional extra from a bygone age, and when road defects are reported by the public, via the potentially brilliant but ultimately infuriating ‘Fix my Street’ app, a common response is that no repair is planned at this stage.

Of course, our county is not alone in having poor roads and years of lack of investment have led to drivers navigating roads like they are in a slalom race.

Therefore, it was a relief to hear that in the upcoming financial year, extra money is being provided by central government to maintain and renew our crumbling road network.

How much is this extra funding for roads in our area in 2025/2026?

The baseline amount for Central Bedfordshire is £7,128,000 (£7.1m).

There is also an additional uplift of £2,570,00 (£2.57m) with 25% of this uplift being held back until the council (and this applies to all councils) can prove to central government they are meeting certain criteria likely to be: proof they are spending the money wisely; collecting the right data and delivering proactive maintenanceThis criteria is to be shared with local authorities in due course.

Therefore, Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) could potentially receive £9,698,000(£9.7m) to improve our road network over the next financial year running from April 2025 to April 2026. This is a considerable increase in government support which was £6.94m in the previous two financial years.

Year

Highways Budget (Total)

Government Funding

Net Council Contribution to budget

2025/26 (draft)

£13.55m

£6.94m (CBC figure in draft budget)

£6.61m

2024/25

£12.9m

£6.94m

£5.96m

2023/24

£12.9m

£6.94m

£5.96m

2022/23

£12.9m

£4.47m

£8.43m

Highways Budget figures for Central Bedfordshire Council. The 2025/26 government funding figure does not include the £2.57m uplift.

On the face of it, this is excellent news, isn’t it? Well yes, it should be, until you find out how Central Bedfordshire Council has reacted to this windfall.

What I set out below is my understanding of the current thinking of the council and their spending intentions relating to Highways maintenance and renewal over the next financial year. I have looked at the CBC budget figures for this and previous financial years, analysed central government data, watched committee meetings where this issue has been discussed, spoken to relevant people and looked at the social media of those involved in this matter. If I have misinterpreted either the data or the intentions I apologise and I am very happy to be corrected. However, if I am correct then this situation is troubling.

Obviously, the intention of the Labour government is to provide this extra money to increase overall spending on our road in Central Bedfordshire.

However, it seems that rather than increase the spending on our Highways, the Independently run council has made a decision to use this additional windfall to reduce the amount they as a council put into their Highways budget and this will result in the Highways budget for next year remaining at virtually the exact same level as last year.

This is not the reason or within the spirit of why the additional funding was provided. The intention was to improve our roads, not to enable local authorities to save some cash. Further, this approach could well lead to the council failing the central government’s criteria for using the money wisely and result in the 25% portion of the £2.57m uplift being held back. This amounts to £642,500. That is a lot of potholes not being filled. That is more damage to our vehicles and more roads that are less safe for drivers and cyclists.

Watching the council meetings online, there is a degree of vagueness around the matter and I also think there has been a misinterpretation of the criteria and amounts that could be received from central government.

The council recently stated that the whole amount of the £2.57m uplift may not actually be given to CBC as it is subject to criteria. My understanding, from reading government documents, is that only 25% of this amount has the potential to be withheld.

Further, the council has said that just under £7m is being provided by central government to CBC. They are likely using last year’s figure of £6.94m. Thegovernment document on this clearly states £7.13m is going to be given to CBC in the upcoming financial year. This figure does not include the potential uplift.

Most importantly, it has been stated by (at two separate council meetings) that it is suggested (in the draft budget) that if the full uplift of £2.57m is received, the total amount of spending on Highways would remain the same i.e. the council would spend less as central government has provided more.

In conclusion, the spirit and intention of the Labour government’s uplift is to ensure councils spend more on roads, not to enable them to put in less themselves. While I understand that the council and other councils around the UK are facing financial pressures, this approach risks the council losing out on a substantial sum of money for desperately needed highway maintenance and improvements.

This is bad business and bad news for the residents of Central Bedfordshire. I would urge them to reconsider.

Julian Vaughan

23rd January 2025

Sources and further reading

House of Commons Library: Potholes and local road maintenance funding: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9975/

 
 
 

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