‘The statistics speak for themselves’ – Council leader responds to Wellingborough and Rushden MP’s open letter addressing state of north Northamptonshire highways

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A council leader has responded after Wellingborough and Rushden MP Gen Kitchen penned an open letter to him on the state of the county’s highways.

Jason Smithers, leader of NNC, insists that the council is ‘open and transparent’ about the data, and that while improvements are still needed, work is progressing well.

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North Northants Council is responsible for the state of the roads, but subcontracts the work to Kier, and a recent Freedom of Information request has shown that the council’s contract with Kier, which is currently worth £30m per year, could be extended next month despite frequent criticisms from road users (including harsh criticisms from the council leader himself in February).

In response to the MP's letter sent this morning, Cllr Smithers said: “Investing and maintaining our highway network is crucial for us and we are committed to driving forward improvements on our roads.

NNC leader Jason Smithers has responded to MP Gen Kitchen's open letter about the state of north Northamptonshire's roadsNNC leader Jason Smithers has responded to MP Gen Kitchen's open letter about the state of north Northamptonshire's roads
NNC leader Jason Smithers has responded to MP Gen Kitchen's open letter about the state of north Northamptonshire's roads

“A few months ago we held Kier’s feet to the fire over performance but full credit to them, they’ve stepped up and improved their operation here in north Northants.

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“The statistics speak for themselves, and we’re open and transparent about reporting the data which monitors road repairs.

“In the past year we’ve seen the number of outstanding defects fall by 7.6 per cent and the overall performance of the contractor soar to 91.96 per cent. It’s also worth noting that if a repair fails, the onus is on the contractor to come back and carry out further work at no additional cost to the council.

“Improvements are needed on our roads – but this work is being done. We’re investing an additional £9 million over the next three years. This shows our determination to make things better for north Northamptonshire residents.”

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He goes on to add: “I recently sent an open letter to the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, the new chancellor, highlighting the funding committed by the previous government for our area amounting to £339.502m.

“In addition to the commitment surrounding Isham Bypass and other infrastructure schemes, the Network North announcement also promised the council a share of the funding released by the cancellation of sections of HS2 in the areas of potholes, buses, and more general transport improvements.

“I would like to reiterate that we need the government’s commitment to uphold this important earmarked investment which is key to us ensuring growth in our area and seeing real improvement on our highways infrastructure.”

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