On March 19, a spokesman for Essex County Council’s highways department stated a further £360,000 over budget had been allocated for pothole repair this 2009 winter which would have to be diverted out of capital funding for the next 2010 financial year.

In the Gazette, on March 31, an aerial view of Tolgate clearly shows four roundabouts that were built there some years ago.

These four roundabouts have been like this for years. What purpose have they served? What did they cost to build and wouldn’t that money have been better used for normal road repair?

In the commercial world there is a procedure known as “just in time”.

It is applied in order to use finances to obtain and provide the resouces to carry out the task required in the most logical, cost-effective way.

The procedure is applied in logistics, engineering and services provision by all cost-effective commercial organisations world wide. But not, it seems by Essex County Council’s highways department. Why not?

The public needs to consider how our tax is being spent to provide us with the most costeffective manner to meet public needs.

These large-scale costly new construction projects should only be carried out if they can show they will bring immediate benefits. It seems the highways department, when allocated money, prefers to spend it on large-scale projects, leaving normal road maintenance as an afterthought – which this winter we have seen to have been a completely ineffective policy.

Allan Hewitt
Bluebell Way
Colchester