A COUNCILLOR has slammed the state of pavements in Romsey as well as the council which care for them.

Councillor Mark Cooper, who is a county councillor for Romsey and a borough councillor for Romsey Tadburn has slammed Hampshire County Council over the state of Romsey pavements.

The pavements have caused injuries for years, and many residents have complained about the pavements even after the upgrades to Romsey town centre.

Now, Cllr Mark Cooper is hitting out at the pavements following Daily Echo's article.

He said: "Many roads in Romsey, and the rest of Hampshire for that matter, are in a disgraceful state.

"From my email traffic I know this is an issue which really upsets local residents.

When pot holes go unrepaired, I can no longer feed requests for repairs into officers.

"Instead, I have to use the Hampshire Website to record problems. Members of the public need to do the same and if there's a serious accident risk, say so on the website."

He added: "The reason for the lack of repairs is that in the last four years the Government has removed £480 million of HCC's funding.

"In the coming financial year another £80 Million is being stripped out, £43 million of it from Adult Social Services.

"This is a consequence of the Government's austerity programme which continues notwithstanding the 'promises' made by certain politicians. Maintenance budgets are now a fraction of what they were.

"When I ask for more resources for the roads in Romsey I am advised that funding will have to be stripped out of Children's Services and Adult Social Services to pay for highway improvements."

Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader of HCC, previously said: “We are aware of one or two repairs that need to be done on the foot ways in Romsey.

"However, Hampshire County Council has recently spent more than £3 million on major improvements to footways in Church Street, Bell Street and Market Place.

"Local authorities are facing continuing pressures due to reductions in our funding from Government grants, however safety is our top priority and we will endeavour to get repairs done as quickly as possible.

"In the meantime, I would encourage people to report defects to us so we can get them repaired as quickly as possible. Repairs can be reported via the County Council’s website."