Council finds extra cash for gritting and lighting

Cambridgeshire County Council highway chiefs have secured extra funding for gritting and street lighting to stave off imminent cuts.

But they have been warned tough savings are still on the cards for future years despite securing an extra £500,000 following a £2.5m underspend by the council.

Members of Highways and Community Infrastructure Committee discussed where this should be spent and agreed on helping to reduce some of the savings that had been proposed.

The Council is still planning savings of around £5m in highways as part of the overall £32 million needed to be saved at if the books are to balance.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Roger Hickford, Chairman of the Highways and Community Infrastructure Committee, said: “While we are pleased to use this extra funding to mitigate some of the effects of the savings we know next year will see similar hard choices.

"There is more and more demand for our services and less and less money from Government.

"The Committee were clear that protecting the routes we grit was important and vital for road safety, especially in our rural areas.

"They also wanted to give more time and flexibility for switching off street lights so we can work with other authorities to find local solutions for their areas.

“Local Government is going through a very tough time with budgets being squeezed hard. But the Committee is determined to do what is best for Cambridgeshire and the communities we serve.”