Lib Dems set out plan for ‘roads rescue fund’

York Lib Dem councillors have called on City of York Council to use a £2.6m funding ‘windfall’ from the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority to improve the condition of York’s roads for motorists and cyclists and give more control to communities on how the money is spent.

Earlier this week the council published its highway maintenance plans for 2026/27 which sets out how money will be spent repairing and upgrading roads, footpaths and streetlights. The report details spending plans worth £13.9m and the accompanying council news release announced total spending of £16.5m, with the remaining £2.6m from the Combined Authority to be spent on “further projects” to be added to the plan in the coming months.

Lib Dem councillors are calling on Labour council bosses to use the £2.6m to create a ‘roads rescue fund’ which would include:

1. £1m to cover the cost of additional lasting pothole repairs resulting from a policy change so that potholes that are 3cm deep would be filled – currently a pothole has to be at least 4cm deep to get filled

2. £1m to re-establish the Ward Highways Fund, to be spent on schemes supported by local residents

3. £600k to be added to the existing budget for road and footpath resurfacing

In July 2023 councillors approved a motion tabled by Lib Dem Councillor Stephen Fenton which called on the ruling Labour Executive to review the council’s road repair policy, with a view to lowering the ‘intervention threshold’ from 4cm to 3cm. But in response to a question asked by Cllr Fenton at a Full Council meeting on 26 March 2026, Transport Executive Member Cllr Kate Ravilious admitted that, almost three years on, the policy review has not been completed. She also added that reducing the intervention threshold would be “not a sensible thing to do.”

Prior to Labour taking control of the council in May 2023, the Lib Dem-led administration had put in place a Ward Highways Fund which meant that every local community had a say in how money was spent in their area, for example funding repairs to well-used walking and wheeling routes which would otherwise have never got to the top of the list for repairs from central budgets.

Cllr Stephen Fenton has called on the Labour administration to engage constructively to make sure that the £2.6m funding boost is spent on the things that matter most to residents.

“This additional funding is very welcome as anyone who walks, wheels, cycles or drives around York knows all too well that the condition of roads and footpaths across the city is deteriorating. It is increasingly hazardous for cyclists and residents who use mobility aids and there are mounting compensation claims from motorists whose vehicles have been damaged by the state of the roads. That’s why it is important that the council uses this opportunity to make a real difference by making more road repairs that will last and reinstating the Ward Highways Fund so that schemes which have residents’ support can be progressed.”

Westfield Ward Lib Dem Councillor Andrew Waller has highlighted how the additional funds could be used to repair concrete roads which have a layer of tarmac on top which is badly rutted.

“Currently potholes must be 4cm deep before they are filled. Reducing this to 3cm would mean that concrete roads with a layer of tarmac in very poor condition - such as Lowfields Drive - can be repaired. This is a priority for residents, demonstrated by the petition which I submitted to the council in November 2023.

“Making this change would make better use of resources, as teams will get more work done on one go, rather than making repeat pothole visits to the same area. It’s difficult to understand why Cllr Ravilious thinks that this is “not a sensible thing to do” not least because it is the section of roads that cyclists use that is in the worst condition.”

Peter Keen, who lives on Lycett Road in Dringhouses, has backed calls for action to tackle the poor state of many local roads and footpaths.

“Lycett Road and Middlethorpe Drive are in urgent need of repair as their current state poses a hazard for all road users, especially cyclists. This situation can’t continue and action is needed before someone gets hurt.”

Lib Dem Group Leader Councillor Nigel Ayre said:

“Residents will be shocked to see many wards in the city are due to have no money spent on their roads and footpaths. My own ward of Heworth Without for example was assessed as the worst in the city with 75% of the network in the worst two categories, yet it receives not 1p of this budget. The system is clearly broken and these simple tweaks will ensure more people are able to cycle, walk, wheel and drive safely.”

Haxby & Wigginton Lib Dem Councillor Andrew Hollyer added:

“The council alone cannot deal with the backlog of road and footpath repairs which stands at over £100m. It needs a proper strategy from national and regional Government so that residents can have some hope that things will improve. But in the meantime, we need to make best use of the money that we do have.”