Essex County Council is planning to change its priorities regarding road repairs, which could leave smaller roads waiting even longer for improvement works.

Under the new system, all roads will be split into two classifications – county and local – based on how busy they are.

Although problems that have an immediate safety risk will still have priority on both types of road, county roads will be put to the front of the queue when it comes to less urgent repairs.

Inspections on county roads will be carried out every three months or monthly if they are higher priority. Local roads will be looked at annually.

County Councillor Rodney Bass, cabinet member for highways and transportation said: “We are making some important changes to our highway maintenance priorities in order to provide a more consistent approach across the county.

“Whilst the county council is doing everything that it can to provide continued investment in our road network, we have to be realistic and recognise that there will be further reductions in available funding streams in future.

“It is therefore necessary to update our highways maintenance priorities, and ensure that in the first instance we prioritise the main roads that carry the greatest amount of traffic.

“We will be monitoring the effects that these changes have across our network.”