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The Council (19 voting in
favour, 6 voting against, 2 abstaining from voting) agreed to
accept an amendment submitted by Councillor Stephen
Drew.
 
Councillors In
Favour: Henry Batchelor, John Batchelor,
Anna Bradnam, Ariel Cahn, Dr Martin Cahn, Stephen Drew, Jose Hales,
Bill Handley, Sunita Hansraj, Sally Ann Hart, Geoff Harvey, Dr Tumi
Hawkins, Helene Leeming, Brian Milnes, Peter Sandford, Bridget
Smith, Richard Stobart, John Williams, Eileen Wilson
 
Councillors
Against: Dr Shrobona Bhattacharya, Tom
Bygott, Graham Cone, Daniel Lentell, Dr Richard Williams, Heather
Williams
 
Councillors
Abstaining: Peter Fane, Corinne
Garvie
 
The Council (19 voting in
favour, 4 voting against, 3 abstaining from voting) agreed the
following motion:
 
“This Council requests
the Leader of the Council to write to the Leader of Cambridgeshire
County Council and the Chair of the Highways and Transport
Committee at the County Council to express concern and dismay at
how little has been spent on South Cambridgeshire’s roads
compared to other areas in Cambridgeshire and applauding the
administration’s programme of investment to address the
historic neglect of South Cambridgeshire’s roads that they
inherited from the previous Conservative administration.
 
In particular, this letter
should set out the following points:
-      
In the eight years preceding the joint
administration’s leadership, the Conservative administration
spent twice as much per kilometre on carriageway and footway
resurfacing in Conservative-controlled Fenland compared to South
Cambridgeshire.
-      
Per capita, the Conservative administration spent
only half as much in South Cambridgeshire on carriageway and
footway resurfacing compared to Fenland, and 0.6 times as much
compared to East Cambridgeshire.
-      
That due to Conservative underinvestment and
mismanagement of highways, the joint administration has been left
with a £600m backlog of highway maintenance across the
county.
-      
The Conservatives ceased routine gulley cleaning for
four years and failed to maintain accurate maps of gully locations,
leading to increased flooding and degradation of roads.
-      
The Joint Administration has nearly doubled the road
maintenance budget for the next two years, adding over £40
million in new capital spending, marking the reversal of decades of
managed decline under the Conservatives.
-      
A new commercial team has been established,
dedicated to ensuring the best quality and value from contractors.
This team has already saved approximately £1.4 million this
year.
-      
In South Cambridgeshire, a number of significant
highway improvements are being funded by the County Council,
amounting to £5,019,000 of investment in South
Cambridgeshire’s roads over this financial
year.”
 
Councillors In
Favour: Henry Batchelor, John Batchelor,
Anna Bradnam, Ariel Cahn, Dr Martin Cahn, Stephen Drew, Jose Hales,
Bill Handley, Sunita Hansraj, Sally Ann Hart, Geoff Harvey, Dr Tumi
Hawkins, Helene Leeming, Brian Milnes, Peter Sandford, Bridget
Smith, Richard Stobart, John Williams, Eileen Wilson
 
Councillors
Against: Dr Shrobona Bhattacharya, Graham
Cone, Dr Richard Williams, Heather Williams
 
Councillors
Abstaining: Peter Fane, Corinne Garvie,
Daniel Lentell