This is a talking point published by the Hereford Times on September 5.

Jonathan Lester, Herefordshire Council leader

IT is really good to see that the condition of the roads in the county is being improved thanks to £38 million investment in 2024/25 by the council.

My administration is committed to improving roads and this is an increase of nearly £12 million when compared with last year.

We have been busy implementing a significant surface dressing programme, which has already seen over 415,000 square metres of new surface laid.

Work has also been going on day and night to resurface parts of our road network with some great videos available on our social media channels. This allocation of funding is allowing us to target investment on roads that need it the most.

In 2024/25, the council is investing £8 million into resurfacing, including £5 million for A and B roads and £3.66 million for C and unclassified roads.

The resurfacing work around the county will continue through to Christmas, and it will bring a much-improved road network that we are committed to delivering. The additional surface dressing work will help to prevent potholes. It is a quick process and usually takes a few hours to complete, meaning we can sometimes treat several roads in one day.

The previous government had allocated £106 million to assist with the road maintenance in the coming years.

We will have to wait and see if the new government will commit to providing the council with such financial support.

This government is intent on bringing forward a programme of devolution for England. A White Paper is expected later in September setting out a new devolution framework that defines precisely the powers and flexibilities available to councils in areas entering into an agreement.

ALSO READ:

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

These will be put into legislation via the English Devolution Bill, which is expected to be introduced in the first session of Parliament. At this stage, there is nothing further on timescales.

Devolution agreements will be tailored to economic geographies, taking into account available data such as travel to work. Devolution for England has been talked about for many years. If the choices for England were obvious it would have been done long ago.

Suffice to say a priority for the council will now be to ensure that we get the best deal for Herefordshire.