In February 2023 City of Edinburgh Council set it’s budget for the coming year, and that included a one-time £11 million surge in funding for road and footpath maintenance. This reflected the state of the roads and footpaths Councillors inherited after the 2022 election. Indeed, when I became Convener I inherited a situation whereby road and foot path maintenance was underfunded by £8 million per year (I question the roads engineer here).

This funding meant that 420,000m² of road and 170,000m² of pavement improvements will be carried out in 2023/24, compared to pre-Covid yearly averages of 225,000m² for roads and 30,000m² for pavements. The work original programme is detailed here.

Now, one year later the budget is being set again. If Councillors do nothing on road and footpath maintenance funding, it will revert to the February 2022 level (i.e. £11 million less than Feb 2023). 

This means that when Councillors talk about “extra” funding for road and footpath maintenance anything less than £11 million is actually a cut!

So what are the parties offering? As far as I can make out (I am awaiting confirmation), the offers are:

1. Conservative – £12 million “extra”.
2. Greens – Nil, but £450k is allocated to dropped kerbs (i.e. £10.55 million less than last year).
3. Independent – Nil (i.e. £11 million less than last year).
4. Labour – £12.5 million “extra” each year for 3 years.
5. Liberal Democrats – £12.5 million “extra”.
6. SNP – £1.2 million cut (i.e. £12.2 million less than last year).

It is important to note that Council Officers were clear about the minimum level of investment needed in  2024 onwards: “To maintain a steady state in condition and continue to apply the guidance, it is estimated that an additional £8m-£10m will be required in each financial year.”

Given the state of our roads and footpaths, these SNP/Green cuts look like an act of vandalism. They would basically half the roads and footpath budget and set us back years.

This is because good quality Pavements, Streetscapes, Lighting and Roads infrastructure benefit all our citizens and visitors whenever they walk, wheel, cycle or use public transport. Investment in our infrastructure improves safety and enhances the appearance of our city. It’s essential that we continue investment in both basic infrastructure and active travel.

Labour’s proposal will mean of these funds will include investment in road safety and community-lead projects and in improving areas identified as feeling unsafe in the Women’s Safety survey.