HAMPSHIRE County Council has admitted it has little choice but to cut its annual road maintenance budget by £7.5m to help bridge a £175m shortfall.

The cash-strapped council has started scrutinising and deciding on the 13 proposals included in the savings programme, created to plug the projected two-year financial deficit of £175m to 2025/26.

In October and November 2023, following a ‘stage 1’ consultation process, the county council approved savings proposals totalling £90.4m.

Some of the proposals caused residents to be extremely disappointed, so a ‘stage 2’ consultation process was launched for 13 of the proposals, totalling £17.5m.

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After a delay due to the General Election, the administration is moving ahead with the agenda and starting the scrutiny process to make a final decision.

On Tuesday, September 10, the universal services select committee will debate the recommendation to reduce the highway maintenance budget for planned maintenance activities by £7.5m from April 2025.

The council’s annual planned maintenance programme, typically around £30m per year, is focussed on delivering large-scale structural highway repairs, including carriageway and footway resurfacing, drainage improvements and surface treatments such as surface dressing.

Under this proposal, the council said it would continue to carry out planned maintenance programs, but the size of the programs might be reduced.

Activities such as routine pothole repairs, the renewal of road markings, sign cleaning and drainage cleaning would not be impacted.

The public consultation showed that 88 per cent of respondents disagreed with this proposal, saying that it could lead to an increase in repairs and legal and administrative costs for the council due to vehicle damage and potential safety issues.

Despite the residents’ concerns, the council said it has “little choice but to reduce the service”.

The draft report said: “Whilst the proposed reduction in funding for planned maintenance evidently goes against public opinion, the county council has little choice but to consider changing or reducing service.”

Hampshire County Council is responsible for maintaining 5,500 miles of public roads, footways, and cycleways across the local authority. It is estimated that there is a £500m highway maintenance backlog.

Most of the planned maintenance undertaken on Hampshire’s local road network is funded directly by the Department for Transport (DfT) through ring-fenced grants.

However, since 2010, the county council has allocated an extra £10m annually for planned maintenance.

Despite the reduction, the council hopes that future DfT grants for 2025/26 will increase the highway maintenance budget.

For example, the £132.3m of funding for the council that the Government announced in November 2023 for highway maintenance.

In the report, the council said that the nine-year funding will mean that the £7.5m cut will be “offset by government money,” which could result in an overall net increase in financing for structural highway maintenance.

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The report reads: “It is anticipated that the proposed reduction in planned maintenance funding would be mitigated when the DfT funding allocations are confirmed, and if the allocations are similar to current levels, the impact would be neutral, and there could be an overall net increase in budget allocations for structural highway maintenance. “

In addition, the county council is considering other ways of generating income, such as introducing a ‘lane rental’ scheme in 2025.

Lane rental schemes allow local highway authorities to charge companies for the time that street and road works occupy the busier parts of the road network.

The council is also exploring how highway assets could be used to generate income from advertising and sponsorship.

Cabinet members will make the final decision on this and another proposal on October 14.