HIGHWAYS across the borough could be in line for a makeover if plans to give each county councillor £10,000 to spend in their area are approved.
Gloucestershire County Council will decide on Wednesday whether to approve a proposal to provide each councillor with a pot of money to spend on improving roads, pavements and footpaths in their ward.
The Highways Local initiative, which is a £1.16m two-year pilot scheme, will see councillors talking to people in their community and highways managers to decide what needs improving.
Leader of the council, Councillor Mark Hawthorne, helped develop the scheme.
He said: "For some time now we've been looking at ways to give local people more power and more choice over how they receive services.
"County councillors are our closest link to these communities so it makes sense for them to be more involved and to tell us where this money should be spent."
Liberal Democrat Councillor Suzanne Williams said she believed £10,000 would not be enough to meet the needs in her ward, Springbank.
She said: "Although it sounds like a lot of money, when it comes down to it, it will be eaten up very quickly.
"There are things like resurfacing Kingsmead Road, which we have been raising with the council for a number of years.
"There are potholes and all sorts down there. It's a complete mess.
"If the council comes back and says that we have to use this £10,000 for that instead of general highways money, it's going to be all used up there."
Councillor Simon Wheeler (LD), who represents Hester's Way and Up Hatherley, felt giving £10,000 to each councillor was a flawed plan, as some areas needed more improvements than others.
He said: "There might be areas that don't need jobs done as much as other areas, therefore our £10,000 would go nowhere, whereas out in the Cotswolds, for instance, their £10,000 is surplus and they might spend it on jobs which are not an overall priority."
Mr Wheeler said the £10,000 would be useful in Hester's Way to repair footpaths on roads on the east side of Princess Elizabeth Way.
The £1.16m for the project will come from the council's transformation reserve, which was allocated for changing business practices to make long-term savings.
If the pilot was successful and the scheme was continued, it would be paid for as part of the normal highways budget.
