Wednesday, 18 November 2009 15:35

FOUR surfacing schemes starting next week in the Crawley area will take investment in the town’s roads and pavements over the last six months past the £1 million mark.

Due to start on Monday, November 23, are pavement improvements at:

• Stackfield Road, Wayside and Tunnmeade in Ifield – costing £81,500.
• Langfield Road, also in Ifield - £37,067.
•  Avon Walk, Gossops Green - £15,000.
• Ash Close to Tiltwood Drive, Crawley Down - £8,500.

The biggest surfacing scheme has been the £500,000 spent on the Manor Royal Industrial estate at Crawley.

Other major pavement schemes carried out since May include Buckswood Drive, Gossops Green (£130,000), Kingscote Hill, also Gossops Green (£95,000), Hardham Close, Ifield, (£73,000), and The Link, West Green (£33,500).

West Sussex County Council Leader Henry Smith, who represents Maidenbower, said: “Roads and pavements are a vital part of the day to day infrastructure that people depend on.

“I have said in the past that I was not surprised that Crawley heads the county’s list in terms of a backlog of repairs given that it has almost 300 miles of heavily used pavements.

“Many of these are ageing at about the same time because it was one of the original New Towns in the 1950s – that’s why it is one of the areas of West Sussex that is being given a priority for repairs.

“I am notified of all improvement schemes in the area as a local councillor, and totalling up the costs has been very interesting, and shows the considerable level of investment.

“The various schemes carried out in Crawley, and other areas of West Sussex, come despite West Sussex County Council continuing to receive the lowest grant per head of population from the Government towards front-line services such as roads.”

The latest pavement schemes will take between one and four weeks to complete, depending on the weather, with the exception of the Stackfield Road, Wayside and Tunnmeade scheme, which is due to take nine weeks – but there will be a two week break over Christmas and the New Year holiday period.