Road Maintenance

Leigh Ingham Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

Driving through Stafford has become an absolute nightmare. For years now, we have been in the grip of what can only be described as a plague of roadworks. It is not the odd disruption here or there, but an ongoing onslaught that has affected nearly every part of our town. To be fair, it is not the first time I have spoken to the House about how poorly residents across Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages have been treated by Staffordshire county council when it comes to roadworks and maintenance, but I am pleased that today I get to do so at length because, frankly, the people I represent deserve to have their voices heard loud and clear.

We face simultaneous disruption from a litany of roadworks across town, of which I will name just a few. On Station Road, works are about to begin. On Market Square, another set are about to start. On Tipping Street, it is the same story. There is Radford Bank, which has been of particular concern, as well as Eastgate Street, North Walls, Gaolgate Street, Malt Mill Lane and Beaconside, which is a major artery now reduced to a bottleneck. Then there is Corporation Street, where the disruption is so severe that traffic is rerouting through Co-operative Street, causing real problems for residents.

I spoke to a constituent on the doorstep only a few weeks ago who told me that they feel like they are stuck in a constant state of dangerous disruption and that their small road has become a permanent rat run, and they are not alone. I did for a moment, when I was writing this speech, consider doing a full list of all the roadworks in Stafford and giving the House the date period, a bit like the shipping forecast, but we worked out that it would take the whole debate.

While it is right that roads are repaired, I cannot condone the cavalier attitude shown towards the needs of residents and businesses through poor communication and poor engagement. The same roads are being dug up or being planned to be dug up on repeat because of a lack of strategic planning between organisations. Staffordshire county council is receiving nearly £40 million in funding next year from the local transport authority. Alongside Stoke-on-Trent, it will receive a further £11.6 million in additional cash for fixing potholes and road maintenance. That is this Labour Government putting their money where their mouth is. This Labour Government are providing funding with money that is there, rather than promises and unfunded commitments. This Labour Government are handing councils the cash and the certainty they need, and it is now up to them to get on with the job, to put that money to use and to prove they are delivering for their communities.

After years of neglect from successive Conservative Governments, it is welcome news to my constituents that there are safeguards in place for this funding. If Staffordshire county council does not show how it is improving our roads, it will risk losing 25% of the funding boost. The council must publish reports on its website by 30 June this year, detailing how much it is spending, how many more potholes it has filled, what percentage of its roads are in what condition and how it is minimising streetworks disruption.

My constituents in Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages deserve better than the last Conservative Government and the poor communication and treatment they have received from Conservative-led Staffordshire county council. I will continue to raise their concerns until we see real change in how these decisions are made, communicated and managed by Staffordshire’s Conservative county council.