Row erupts over Northumberland pothole repair

They are advocating a package of improvements which includes more permanent repairs for potholes, better gully and ditch cleaning and a maintenance budget for pavements and bridges.

It comes as all councils around the North East are facing a financial nightmare over pothole problems as they try to make sure roads and pavements are safe.

Conservative group leader, Peter Jackson, says the recommendations have come from an all-party working group examining ways to improve the condition of roads and pavements.

Yesterday he welcomed an announcement that the administration has now found £1.5m in emergency funding to repair the worst of the recent damage, but said in the long-term the council needs to change the way it looks after roads and pavements.

"I am pleased they have reacted to the problem," he said. "Now that the snow has mainly melted away, it is only too clear the deep damage that has been caused to our roads in the last month by the extreme winter conditions.

"Over the last year I have been chairing a cross-party working group which has proposed a raft of detailed recommendations that would improve the condition of our roads and pavements. The council needs to have a more planned approach that would result in permanent repairs to our roads, rather than the current system of emergency patching that tends to lift straight out during adverse weather.

With a degree of poor timing, the Lib Dem executive at their last meeting chose not to support these recommendations. I think residents have a right to demand urgent action on this issue.

"The administration might wish to muddle through again and pretend that there is not really an issue here. But for once they will have to get out of County Hall to actually see that there is a very real problem that the County Council will have to face up to."

But council leader, Jeff Reid, said it was 'a blatant lie' for Coun Jackson to claim that the working group's recommendations were not supported by the executive.

"We totally support this report, were fully supportive of the recommendations and complimented the group on its work," he said.

"However, it will have to be subject to the budget exercise and is not currently part of the budget process. We have identified £1m of revenue funding to get on with putting right the potholes and damage to roads caused by the recent weather, so we are taking urgent action."