We could all pay more in Lincolnshire because Government refuses to pay to fix our roads
Residents could be forced to pay even more for their Council Tax - with the Government likely to refuse to pay to fix our crumbling roads.
Lincolnshire County Council now says that its campaign to get a U turn on a £12 million cut to its road maintenance cash is likely to fail.
As a result, the authority says that it will ask taxpayers to pay another 2% more - and that even this won't completely fill the budget black hole.
With a 3% rise to fund adult social care already planned - this means a 5% rise in the portion of the bill that goes to county services.
Rises have already been proposed for district and police parts of the bill too.
The council says it has to act in order to keep roads maintenance work going.
Coun Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We know road repairs are a priority for residents and have always done our best to protect the highways maintenance budget from cuts. However, despite lobbying from both the council and Lincolnshire’s MPs, it looks like the government will not be reinstating the £12m they cut from our highways grant last year.
“As a result, the executive has little choice but to propose a 2% increase in general council tax to help make up the shortfall. Despite this, we will still need to use £2.3 million from our reserves over the coming year in order to balance the books.
“It remains true that, even with this additional 2% increase, the people of Lincolnshire will pay the second lowest county council tax in the whole country.
“We’re disappointed that local taxpayers are again being left to foot the bill, especially when the government raises billions each year through fuel duty and road tax. So we’ll continue our fight to ensure Lincolnshire gets fairer funding in future.”
The updated budget proposals for 2022/23 will be put before the full council on Friday February 18.
Coun Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “The lack of action from government and the Department for Transport is shocking.
"Our 5,500-mile road network is crucial to the livelihoods of residents and businesses. However, we simply aren’t getting the money we need to bring our roads up to the standard that people in Lincolnshire deserve.
"Instead, we have 660 miles of crumbling roads classed as being in poor or very poor condition.
“It’s disappointing that we’re being forced to fill this funding gap with money that could go towards improving other vital services instead. But if we don’t step in, there would be 24,000 potholes left unfilled and 37 miles of failing carriageway not rebuilt, leading to unplanned roadworks, a drop in road network resilience and the local economy taking a hit.
“But the fight isn’t over, and we encourage everyone to show their support by visiting our campaign webpage and writing to their local MP to demand better funding for our roads.”
You can share your pothole horror stories with the county council via www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highwaysfunding.