While there is much political uncertainty in the short term, I like to take a longer and optimistic view. Having a forward vision and getting things right for the long term as opposed to only having instant ‘quick wins’ is something I believe in. Transport in particular is something that requires long term planning and investment although it can involve short-term pain as improvements are undertaken.
An example of this is the upgrading of the M23 from the Copthorne roundabout to the M25 into a ‘smart motorway’ which won’t be completed until next year. I don’t welcome the whole of 2019 having to use narrow lanes and a 50 mph limit, but once completed in 2020 it will be of major benefit for all those who use the M23 at any time.
Winter is the time that the majority of potholes break out on our roads. I find them as frustrating as everyone else does. During the winter months, I report potholes and road defects needing repair every week, to ensure they are in the system and repaired as soon as possible. I encourage everyone to report any potholes they see to ‘Love West Sussex’ online to help speed up the reporting and subsequent repairs.
Repairing potholes is of course a reactive service and having better road surfaces where they don’t break out is much more desirable. This is why I am very pleased that the Government are giving English Councils an extra £420 million for road surfacing works, on top of an existing fund of £300 million. For West Sussex this means we receive an additional £6.2 million.
This welcome extra funding will be used to bring forward some road resurfacing works that had been planned for future years, into the next few months. I’ve already made representations to West Sussex County Council for Crawley roads to benefit from this additional funding and I’m very pleased to announce that subject to weather conditions and logistics, we will be seeing additional Crawley roads being fully resurfaced in the first half of 2019. I wish all readers a very happy new year.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
2nd January 2019