Cllr John Riddle is Northumberland County Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for roads. John is tasked with delivering value for money in the core services the council provides, a key priority of Northumberland Conservatives' administration. John writes:

It is the job of any council is to ensure bins are emptied and roads are maintained. We can only deliver exciting and innovative projects across Northumberland while delivering high quality ‘local services’. A key priority for our council administration is providing value for money, and we are working to ensure residents can expect efficiency in their essential services.

In 2017 Northumberland Conservatives inherited a road network in a serious state of disrepair. We have been working to put this right and we are always striving for more efficient and better pothole repairs to our highways.

We’re at the cutting edge of road repair, having invested in a British-made JCB pothole pro machine to tackle urban areas in South East Northumberland and embarked on pilot schemes in the west and the north of the county to trial ‘cut-out patching’ as a more resilient and permanent repair. So far the teams have completed around 700 repairs, with the trial set to end in October.

The previous leader of Northumberland Labour Susan Dungworth even said you could eat your dinner off the county’s roads. We will stick to plates, but this was as good an indication as any that the repairs we are carrying out are high quality and built to last.

Northumberland Conservatives are proud to have the most proactive councillors, with regular pothole patrols making sure that when issues are spotted they are dealt with. We have also empowered residents to improve their own areas through the ‘Fix my street’ app. Residents can report issues with an image and the exact location, followed by weekly progress updates and a notification when the work is complete. We have received over 10,000 reports since the launch of the app, with results being delivered across the county.

This summer we opened up our county to residents and visitors, with a trial of motorhome parking spots in Bamburgh, Amble, and Beadnell. Feedback so far has been positive, with local businesses  benefitting from the additional trade. We hope to expand this further, with more locations on offer and more towns and villages set to benefit.