REGARDING the appalling condition of local roads.

It all boils down to money in the public purse.

Whilst the roads of Cheshire – east and west – appear worse than most, the problem is nationwide.

Whilst local councils are the target of criticism the real problem lies in absence of ring-fenced funding for the maintenance of local roads.

When the money required for road maintenance is competing with other calls upon council funding there will always be the temptation to make do and mend – or rather patch up.

Currently, government at both local and national level celebrates the filling in of potholes instead of repairing the roads properly.

Surely the time has come to remove responsibility for road maintenance from local councils and place it in the hands of a properly-funded specialised agency which has no other calls upon it other than the maintenance of local roads.

The national Highways Agency appears to do a reasonable job with major roads so why shouldn’t a similar model work for the rest of the road network?

Perhaps a good starting point would be for local councils everywhere to face up to the reality that they are failing the public in this important accountability.

Until such time as a radical solution is found I fear we are likely to see more of the same wasteful use of public funds directed at repeated ineffective road repairs leaving vehicle owners with hefty bills and other road users in fear for their personal safety.

J G Heselwood Cheshire