£3.7m pothole repair handout doesn’t match size of problem, say Liverpool City Region leaders

🕳 The Department of Transport has given £3.7m to the Liverpool City Region to invest in highways maintenance and pothole repairs across the next 12 months. However, leaders claim it ‘doesn’t go anywhere near far enough’. Greater Manchester Combined Authority received almost double Liverpool’s allocation, at £6.2m.

The cash for LCR is to be split six ways across the area’s councils after being accepted last week. Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council and portfolio holder for transport, said: “I certainly won’t turn this down, it’s required. We will accept this but there is so much more the government should be trying to do. It’s not very clear how our settlement has been arrived at compared to other parts of the country.”

Liverpool will receive around a quarter of the cash, with almost £1m going to the city’s roads. More than £760,000 is being invested in Wirral with a further £628,000 going to Sefton. St Helens Council will receive investment of more than half a million while Knowsley and Halton will get more than £400,000 each.

The Liverpool City Region allocation is fairly modest when compared to other regions across the UK. The Transport Secretary Mark Harper’s local authority – Gloucestershire Council – received £29m while the Prime Minister’s North Yorkshire Council received £46m.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “It’s a fairly serious thing, it’s bad for cars we know that, but if you’re a cyclist some of these things are particularly dangerous. We’re doing everything we can but as funding is reduced from our councils, we have to rely more and more on handouts, and that’s why we’ll accept this money, gratefully but we do think it has to be a fairer share overall of the pot.”

🎟️ Political leaders across the Liverpool City Region have criticised proposals to close ticket offices at dozens of stations in our area. Rail Delivery Group announced earlier this month that staff could be moved out of ticket offices and onto station concourses. Some kiosks would remain at larger stations. Merseyrail stations are not expected to be impacted by the change.

⛳ People have been warned not to travel in Hoylake during the busiest periods of the Open, with 250,000 visitors expected to come to Wirral for the golf competition. According to the Council, the busiest time of day will be between 6 am and 10 am. West Kirby train station will also be closed for the event.