THE Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) administration has delivered a balanced budget for 2026/27 that protects frontline services and invests in what matters to residents, despite £12 million of cuts from the Labour Government over the next three years.

Thanks to careful financial management by the Liberal Democrats, B&NES remains one of the most efficiently run councils in the country.

We have the second-lowest council tax of any South West unitary authority and are ranked fifth most productive council nationally.

This year’s biggest capital investments are focused on housing, support for vulnerable children and adults, investing in play areas, and maintaining highways and pavements.

Almost £10 million is badged for road resurfacing and repairs.

Even with increases in highways funding, maintaining our roads is challenging.

In the 1990s, new surfacing techniques were introduced that seemed better in terms of being easier to lay, cheaper, nicer to drive on, and reducing surface water and spray.

But, when not regularly maintained and preserved due to years of central Government austerity and cuts to council budgets, the slowed maintenance work left these newer types of surfaces more susceptible to freeze-thaw damage.

The frequent and record rainstorms as well as soaring temperatures we are experiencing are pummelling our roads.

And heavier vehicles apparently cause significantly more road damage than lighter ones.

These two factors combine to create what you could call a ‘perfect storm’ for our roads.

In terms of improving and protecting our roads and improving road safety, we and our colleague in Mendip ward, Cllr Simon McCombe, have had some successes.

But, there is still more to do.

For example, residents in Hinton Blewett have rightly flagged concerns about the poor condition of Coley Hill.

Simon has raised this issue with council and the highways team and will keep pushing for resurfacing as a priority.

Cllr McCombe has also secured additional funding for drainage improvements in West Harptree, to help protect roads from further damage and for a new pedestrian crossing on the A37 in Temple Cloud, where poor visibility, heavy traffic, and HGVs can make it difficult and at times unsafe for residents, including school children, to cross.

In the Chew Valley ward, in North Wick, drainage improvements are planned which will hopefully prevent flooding and freezing of the road.

In Stowey, we have at last secured the money for a pavement running from the tennis club to Redlands Lane along the busy A368.

We now have the funding in place for the construction of a zebra crossing in front of the primary school in Bishop Sutton.

Also, Moorledge Road coming into Chew Magna, will finally get a well-deserved resurfacing.

We will continue pushing to get the Chew Valley its fair share of investment.

Please help us by using the FixMyStreet service on the B&NES Council website at https://fix.bathnes.gov.uk/ to report problems.

The more things get reported, the more gets mended!

Cllrs Anna Box and David Harding