Conservative Cllr Reena Ranger has publicly questioned whether the £100m earmarked for highways maintenance across Hertfordshire next year (25/26) will be enough.

The county council – which has an overall operational budget in excess of £1bn – is responsible for the maintenance of 3,200-miles of roads across the county.

And councillors are currently scrutinising plans to allocate its budget between a wide range of its services – including social care, public health, trading standards and the Fire and Rescue Service – next year (2025/26).

The £100m earmarked for highways capital maintenance in the council's draft budget is £6m higher than this year (24/25) – but is not high enough to match inflation.

And at a meeting of the council's highways and transport cabinet panel, Cllr Ranger questioned whether the £100m was actually enough.

As part of a debate on the draft budget plans, Cllr Ranger acknowledged the "wider pressures on the county".

But pointing to the highways maintenance budget, she said "£100m is probably not enough, right?"

She pointed to the county's "ageing" asset, the seeming increase in utility companies maintaining their own ageing infrastructure and the impact of climate change, "which is bringing high levels of water down".

She highlighted the council's own past efficiencies, suggesting "there's not much more to be efficient with". 

And she asked at what point would the council needed to think about the need to get a bit more money from government.

In response, the council's director of highways operations Anthony Boucher said that they were "in regular dialogue" with the Department for Transport about the grants the council receives.

And he said that much would depend on what was to happen in the government's next comprehensive spending round.

As to the total funding that is available for highways and transport in the county, he stressed there was "an increase overall".

He accepted the highways were an ageing asset. And he said that while utilities have the right to repair their own equipment, the council can penalise then if they do not reinstate the highway "to the right standard".

He also suggested that the number of days' occupation of the highway had decreased last year – which he said was "testament" to the network management team who had negotiated with utilities to get the shortest duration possible for all their works.

Nevertheless executive member for highways and transport Cllr Phil Bibby suggested this may not be the experience across the county.

"If you live at the older towns in the county, their infrastructure is really crumbling," he said.

"And they seem to be really suffering through utilities' work, particularly Harpenden springs to mind.

"But yeah network management do a very good job to try and co-ordinate as much as they can."

According to the budget report presented to the cabinet panel, on Wednesday (February 12), the £100m earmarked for highways maintenance next year includes an additional £4m additional capital highways maintenance, supported by a government grant.

And it, according to the report, includes £3m additional capital 'preventative' maintenance.

As previously reported by the LDRS, the budget document also includes plans for the council to look at more localised gritting decisions – that could save the council an estimated £300k a year.

The council's 2025/26 budget will be debated and voted on at a meeting of the full county council on February 25.