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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Jack Thomson

Candidate calls for investment in Renfrewshire's roads to remain a 'priority' in next council

Investing in Renfrewshire's roads must remain a priority in the next council administration, a candidate has said.

Cathy McEwan, the current term's infrastructure convener, said there is "always much more to be done" as she reflected on progress in this area on Thursday.

The local authority approved its first multi-year investment of £40million in 2019, which has allowed a series of works to be carried out in the last three years.

A report, agreed at council, said this included proactive maintenance on more than 1.1 million square metres of road and footway network, preventative works on 20 per cent of the road network, £3million on strategic routes and £1.2million on drainage.

McEwan said: "I am sure that we would all agree that irrespective of what administration is in power in Renfrewshire Council that continuing investment in our roads network should always be seen as a priority.

"Previous administrations have, as is right, prioritised roads investments and our administration has continued with this approach and went even further by approving a multi-year investment of £40million over a five year period. This was agreed in 2019.

"That was the first time that this has been done, so this is taking investment through to 2024."

The percentage of Renfrewshire's roads requiring maintenance is now "significantly below" the Scottish average, according to a report by the director of Environment and Infrastructure.

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It also detailed that class A road networks are fourth in Scotland, an improvement from eighth in 2018, with the class B network ranked seventh, up from tenth over the same period.

McEwan, an SNP candidate standing for re-election in Renfrew South and Gallowhill, added: "There has been a continual improvement in the Renfrewshire roads network over the last 10 years, with an increased improvement over the last five year period.

"This is how it should be but we must never rest on our laurels as there is always much more to be done."

Alison Ann-Dowling, a Labour candidate in Houston, Crosslee and Linwood, described the condition of the area's roads as a "political problem" as she responded to McEwan's comments.

She said: "Unfortunately that quite balanced approach that her comments took are at odds with some of the election material that is doing the rounds, certainly in my ward, where quite laughably the so-called neglect of the five years of a previous Labour council is blamed for the state of the roads today.

"I do thank officers for a comprehensive report, however, I am disappointed that the report doesn't even hint at ways that we can get better outcomes than we presently do.

"At the last full council meeting, the motion is passed calling for a fresh strategy to improve the state of local roads and pavements and I'm not seeing it here.

"I'm also not criticising officers. The condition of our roads is a political problem and the responsibility for that lies squarely with the SNP."

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