North Tyneside's roads and pavements could face a repair backlog of £58m by 2029/30, prompting calls for urgent action to address the issue before costs escalate further.
A recent resilience review report presented to North Tyneside Council warned that delaying maintenance on assets such as highways does not remove costs but instead reduces future options and increases long-term affordability risks.
The report follows the publication of the council's Highway Asset Management Plan, which states that funding levels for highways and footpaths remain unchanged and that the combined repair backlog could rise to £58m by 2029/30.
Political Response
Councillor John Johnsson, leader of North Tyneside Council's Conservative group, said: "The independent review presented to the Audit Committee confirms that delaying essential repairs is not a saving. It simply leaves residents with crumbling roads and pavements today, while taxpayers face a much bigger bill tomorrow."
He added: "Unless drastic action is taken, North Tyneside's roads and pavement repair backlog will soar towards £60m, with the pavement backlog alone almost doubling. Labour cannot continue asking residents to pay more council tax while cutting highway funding in real terms and increasing some councillors' allowances by up to 235%."
Johnsson also said: "Budgets reveal priorities. Residents deserve roads and pavements that are up to scratch – not more temporary patching while the repair bill grows by another £22m."
Labour's Response
A North Tyneside Labour spokesperson responded: "This is a bit rich from the Conservatives. After 14 years of Tory governments underfunding councils and failing to invest properly in our roads and pavements, they are now complaining about the consequences of the problems they created."
The spokesperson added: "Labour in North Tyneside has invested more than £26m in roads and pavements since 2013, on top of the council's usual highways maintenance budget and continues to invest millions every year."
They continued: "Working with our Labour government and Labour-led North East Combined Authority, we are determined to secure further investment and start tackling the infrastructure backlog the Conservatives left behind."
Johnsson concluded: "The Mayor must now publish a properly funded plan to stop the backlog increasing and begin bringing it down."
