£3.7M TO BE SPENT ON ROADS AND FOOTWAYS IN BID TO DRIVE DOWN LEGAL CLAIMS

Some £3.7million is to be spent on improvements to Salford’s roads and footways in the next 12 months in a bid to drive down legal claims for vehicle damage and pedestrian injuries.

The cash comes from the city council’s capital allocation from the Department for Transport for the Highways Investment Programme (HIP) for the year ahead as legal claims for damaged vehicles soared to above 40 claims last year and personal injuries climbed to nearly 60 from almost zero.

Town hall bosses implemented a ‘network recovery plan’ in 2009/10 in a bid to arrest the deterioration of the highways.

But since 2016/17 the authority has been consistently awarded less than it has bid for under the HIP.

It has asked for a total of £32.6m since then, but has received just short of £20m in that time.

However, for the first time in the last seven years, Salford has now to received £3.7m – the amount it requested.

The allocation is being carved up into £2.5m for carriageway refurbishment and resurfacing and £1.2m for repairs to surfaces on footways and kerbing.

A report to the Property and Regeneraion Briefing meeting said the number of legal claims against the city council fell when the HIP was fully funded, before 2010.

“This is a direct consequence of the investment made,” it said. “However, it should be noted that in the last 12 months there has been a significant increase in the number of claims received by the council and while the value of payouts has slightly increased, not all claims are settled in year.

“The number of accident claims has begun to rise in the last three years which is a result of the deterioration of the network brought about by lower funding levels.”

It said that investing in the footways would lead to ‘better equality outcomes’ as footways will become safer, particularly for the elderly, infirm and those with mobility difficulties.

“Safer footways shall in turn produce a reduction in accident claims and a reduction in the number of reactive works orders issued over time,” the report continued.

“This is provided that investment levels are maintained at the £1.2m required for footways to remain at an overall steady state condition.”

A key element of the city council’s approach are cycle lanes, the report said. “Cycle lanes will see a major shift in the way people will move around our city and the greater conurbation,” it said. “It is appropriate that this is reflected within the way the highways are managed. The likelihood of risk of injury to a cyclist is far greater than the risk of damage to a victle from defects in the carriageway.”

More than 200 footways and nearly 400 roads across the entire city have been earmarked for improvement.

It has been agreed that the deputy city mayor Coun Tracy Kelly approves the proposed programme of work for the HIP for 2023/24.