Westmorland and Furness Council has questioned the findings of the Government’s new road maintenance ratings after being given a 'red' rating.
On Sunday, January 11, the Department for Transport (DfT) released ratings of how well local authorities in England were fixing and maintaining their roads.
Local authorities were ranked by the DfT as either ‘Green’, meaning they were meeting standards well, ‘Amber’, meaning they required improvement, or ‘Red’, which meant standards were failing to be met.
Reacting to the rating, the council has questioned the methodology of the Government’s rating system.
It has also queried whether it has been punished for only providing three years' worth of date to the DfT, when there was allegedly a five year data requirement, even though the authority was only formed in 2023.
Councillor Peter Thornton, Cabinet Member for Highways and ICT at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “The council is rated in three different categories [within the findings] – Road Condition, Capital Spend, and Best Practice – our rating is Amber against each of the three categories.
“As a new authority with a limited range of data to offer, we will be actively engaging with the DfT to understand the methodology behind the overall rating and to identify steps for improvement.
“We do not understand why Amber ratings in the three categories are then translated into an overall Red rating, which we do not accept reflects the overall performance of our rural authority.”
A council spokesperson confirmed that Westmorland and Furness Council officers met with Government officials on Monday (January 12) to discuss the methodology of the ratings.
The outcome of these discussions is so far unknown.
Cllr Thornton continued: “Our network has scale, rurality, and historic assets which make maintenance uniquely challenging, but we are determined to meet these challenges head-on and build on the progress already achieved."
The councillor also noted, as did the Government, that ‘historic underinvestment’ could be to blame for the results and the findings are not necessarily because of ‘a lack of strategy and ambition’ on behalf of the council.
On the council’s road maintenance rating, Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, released a statement.
Mr Farron said: “Our councils in Cumbria host 20 million visitors a year to the Lakes and Dales and yet they get little in funds from the Government to pay for the extra wear and tear on our roads.
"However, I believe there may be inconsistencies in the data which has led to this rating, and I will be seeking to meet with ministers to ask for clarification.
"Comparing the state of roads in deeply rural areas like ours with roads in cities is completely pointless.
"But then again, this is a government that is building a strong track record of not understanding the needs of rural communities.
“If ministers really cared about the state of roads in our rural county, then they would be giving our local councils more resources, rather than painting colours on a map.”
Meanwhile, Michelle Scrogham, MP for Barrow and Furness, said she was ‘disappointed’ with the council’s overall rating.
Mrs Scrogham said: “This [road maintenance] is a major priority for me and for the residents who contact me every day to complain about the state of some of our roads, which have so many potholes they look like the surface of the moon.”
The MP continued by echoing past underinvestment as a possible reason for the current state of the area’s roads, and the recent rating from the Government.
However, Mrs Scrogham said she was ‘delighted’ that the council is now set to receive £155 million over the next four years from the government to improve roads in the authority.
She said: “I am disappointed to see Westmorland and Furness receiving a red rating and hope that they will use this as an opportunity to take steps to address these issues.
“I’m glad to see that they will receive additional assistance to help them use the additional investment they are getting as effectively as possible.”
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