Congleton's MP has called for improvements to the transport network in Cheshire East.

Sarah Russell MP, whose constituency includes Sandbach and Alsager, spoke on regional transport inequality in the House of Commons on Thursday, September 11.

During her three-minute speech she addressed Northern Rail's Sunday services, the importance of gritting in rural areas, the reduction in buses and, of course, potholes.

She said: "I'm quite tempted to stand up this afternoon and just say the word pothole over and over again for three solid minutes because the peculiarity of the approach might really bring home to the minister, who I know has been doing his best on these matters, quite how strongly my constituents feel about the state of their roads.

"Now, the government did give Cheshire East several million pounds more in this year's budget to deal with road maintenance backlogs than it has had in previous recent years, and that is very, very much appreciated by my constituents.

"But the reality is that 14 years of chronic underfunding has left my roads in a catastrophic state, and I cannot emphasize enough how dark, dangerous, and worrying rural roads are.

"The number of young people who die on the roads in my constituency is absolutely horrific, and I can't emphasize enough that we need separate funding for significant safety upgrades as well as the road maintenance pot to be increased dramatically as soon as the government is possibly able to do so."

Sarah Russell says the roads in the Congleton constituency are in a 'catastrophic state' (Credit: Sarah Russell)

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Mrs Russell continued, drawing attention to the matter of gritting in the Congleton constituency.

She said: "This might sound like a trivial thing if you live in an urban area, but gritting in rural areas is so critical. Our roads get a lower level of usage, and the result is that they freeze and they stay frozen for longer periods of time.

"One of the impacts of my local authority having had so many financial challenges over the last 14 years has been reductions in gritting. There are schools in my rural areas that have no pavements outside them and the roads in front of them are completely and utterly ungritted. When those children are dropped off at school, they are put into a road alongside cars, which has not been gritted at all whatsoever. Head teachers do their best to mitigate the risks associated by this by not demanding that parents bring their children in on time. So that puts children, A, at risk anyway, and B, having their education undermined by the lack of safety features.

"I contrast this with London, where schools have automatic cameraed roads that shut the roads off completely at specific times of day, and I find it staggering that we have such a complete contrast in treatment. Of course, I want children in London to be safe. This isn't about taking things away from London schools, but it is very, very much about children in my constituency and older people and others having the same access and the same safety that everyone else does."

Mrs Russell also spoke on the 'complete lack' of Sunday services (Credit: Sarah Russell)

Last but not least, Mrs Russell spoke on the issues around public transport in the area.

She said: "Very, very briefly, given I've got 30 seconds, I want to touch on Northern Rail and the complete lack of Sunday services in my constituency.

"The strikes have been going on for a year now, and we desperately need this issue to be resolved.

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"And lastly, there has been a 67% reduction in buses in my local area in the last 15 years. It is desperate that we improve this. Thank you."