East Renfrewshire Council has approved an additional investment of £3million for road improvements and pavement resurfacing.

The programme, which will see improvements at 73 sites across East Renfrewshire, will be carried out over and above the existing annual roads resurfacing works which were approved by the Council in March 2021.

All of East Renfrewshire's roads are assessed and reported on nationally each year. The Council is currently ranked second in Scotland for the condition of its A class roads, which are classed as the most important routes for residents and visitors. B and C class roads are better than the Scottish average for both categories.

In its 2019/20 budget, the Council committed an additional £15m capital investment for roads infrastructure over the following f years. The 2021/22 roads maintenance programme will use the additional £3million of resources to improve the condition of roads throughout East Renfrewshire.

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The Council's A and B class road network is classed as in a relatively good condition so the majority of the additional £3m allocation for 2021/22 has been directed towards residential roads.

A number of factors are taken into consideration to prioritise which roads are chosen for the programme each year. This includes the structural condition of the road or pavement, usage, maintenance costs for previous years, public feedback and geographic spread.

Roads and pavements in this year's additional works programme cover a wide area across the whole authority including: Robertson Street in Barrhead, Hillside Road in Neilston, Evan Drive in Giffnock, The Oval in Stamperland, Overlee Road in Clarkston, Humbie Road in Eaglesham and Broom Road in Newton Mearns.

Councillor Tony Buchanan, Leader of East Renfrewshire Council, said: "It's great to hear our A class roads are continuing to rank high in Scotland, and our B and C class roads are performing better than the Scottish average. We want to continue to improve on our ranking so I am delighted my fellow Councillors today agreed to further invest in roads in East Renfrewshire. We listened to the public's views and feedback when choosing the roads and pavements for this year's works, and the improvements will make a significant difference to our transport network. Despite the difficulties that Covid-19 has presented, we were still able to complete 35 road resurfacing projects in 2020/21. The additional investment for this year will not only be beneficial to our residents but vital to our local economic recovery as businesses re-open following Covid-19 and we see an increase in footfall as more people return to East Renfrewshire to work and visit."