Neath Port Talbot Council Approves Extra £500,000 for Road Repairs.

Neath Port Talbot Council has approved an extra £500,000 worth of funding for  repairing pot holes and resurfacing roads across the borough in the wake of increasing costs of work.
It comes as part of the local authority’s £5m Neighbourhood Improvement Programme which was first approved in March 2026 with a sum of £2.9m set aside for highway repairs, traffic, and road safety schemes.
However a cabinet report presented to councillors in September said without  extra funding the full list of repairs at more than 50 roads across Neath Port Talbot would not be completed.
This was said to be a result of increased costs associated with the “excavation,
handling and disposal of coal tar-contaminated road planings”  as well as the need to “vary the type of surface treatment at certain locations”.
Following approval by members this extra half a million will now be taken from additional general capital funding of £2.46m provided by the Welsh Government in the 2025-26 financial year.
It will go towards road repairs in areas such as Aberavon, Port Talbot, Neath, Pontardawe, and Briton Ferry, and on a number of busy local roads such as Heilbronn Way.
The report said: “Without additional funding, the full list of schemes originally identified cannot be completed within the approved £2.9m allocation.
“Cabinet is therefore asked to approve a further £500,000, increasing the available budget to carry out highway repairs to £3.4m.
“It is proposed that this be funded from the additional general capital
funding of £2.46m provided by the Welsh Government in the 2025-26 financial year, leaving £1.96m available for other capital priorities.”
It added: “The principal reasons are revisions to the required extents of individual schemes, changes to the most appropriate surface treatment following further assessment, and additional costs arising from the management and disposal of coal tar contaminated road planings.”
The overall scheme will also see £1m set aside for the council’s community investment fund where elected members can apply for funding for local community projects.
Additionally it will provide around £300,000 for new bus shelters and street furniture in Neath Port Talbot as well as £250,000 for new plant and equipment such as mowers and towable salt spreaders. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​