The chair of the highways committee and transport committee of Cambridgeshire County Council rejected claims by a Whittlesey councillor that Fenland has been unfairly disadvantaged in spending on road repairs.
Cllr Alex Beckett said: “I don’t recognise the suggestion that the county council has deprioritised Fenland in favour of the south of the county.”
He was responding to claims by Whittlesey county councillor Chris Boden, who is also leader of Fenland District Council.
Cllr Boden said yesterday that residents in Whittlesey “are all justified in being exasperated that it’s taken 8 months” to begin repairs to the B1040 at Dog in the Doublet.
“It’s totally correct when some residents complain that there’s have been nothing like an 8 month wait if this problem had been in Cambridge rather than in Fenland”.
Cllr Boden promised: “I’ll give more information later about how the geographical priority for road repairs has deliberately been skewed towards the south of the county in the last three years.
“Just for now I’m more concerned in getting the B1040 re-opened without temporary traffic lights as soon as possible”
Cllr Beckett is having none of it.
“It’s notable that Cllr Boden hasn’t provided supporting data to back these claims,” he said.
https://twitter.com/alexbeckett/status/1841455477873320070
“Historically, under the previous Conservative administration, funding was heavily weighted towards Fenland, with South Cambs receiving only a half to a third of Fenland’s allocation.”
He sent pie charts to CambsNews “showing resurfacing budgets under the Conservatives to illustrate this”.
Cllr Beckett said: “When considering Cambridge City’s funding, it’s crucial to understand the unique nature of its road use.
“While the city’s roads receive higher funding per kilometre, the funding per road user is notably low due to Cambridge’s compact but heavily trafficked road network – a different dynamic compared to Fenland.”
He added: “Under our administration, we’ve introduced a data-driven, objective approach to maintenance prioritisation that was previously lacking.
“By using the Gaist automated inspection system, we now collect consistent condition data on all roads.
“This allows us to allocate maintenance resources based purely on need, rather than prioritising specific areas – a clear shift from previous practices.
“Additionally, we’ve nearly doubled our highways maintenance budget, representing a record yearly investment for the county.”
Cllr Beckett said: “This increase follows years of managed decline under the Conservatives, which has left us with a nearly £600m backlog in maintenance.”
FACT FILE
Gaist captures and analyses continuous, high-definition imagery – 900 times the detail of Google Maps – about road conditions and the highways network.
The company has developed this into revolutionary and IP-rich proprietary software, which can be imported into the asset management systems of highways network operators, local authorities, mapping companies, major utilities, and other blue-chip firms.
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