Long serving councillor Derek Antrobus has expressed his wishes for Salford to continue to progress with more environmentally friendly provisions.
The councillor oversees planning and sustainable development and believes that everyone will benefit from improvements to local streets.
“I’m responsible for areas of the environment so I would very much like to see more tree lined streets and more walkable streets where people feel that it’s not a danger crossing the road,” he said.
With 60% of the council’s funds going on health and education, Mr Antrobus is eager to divert resources towards making Salford a greener place to live.
“Investment in those streets can have a knock-on effect in terms of air quality. In terms of mental health, a greener environment is better for everybody. This also boosts health generally by encouraging people to walk and cycle more. I do think investing in those more walkable streets would be my number one priority.”
Having served the community for over 40 years, Councillor Antrobus wants to ensure that the council’s plans remain realistic.
“I think when you have ambitions like Salford and you want to transform the environment and create those streets. More walkable and more friendly to Salford. You don’t just have the plans but you make sure that your plans tie in with reality. Things that look good on paper may not always work out very well on the ground.”
Salford City councillors have recently gone on fact finding missions to London to see how their councils operate. However, Councillor Antrobus believes that Salford are in the driving seat when it comes to planning for the future.
“What’s been a real delight is that some of our councillors and officers have been down to look at schemes in London where they think of themselves as ahead of the game. And actually, what we’ve found out is that our plans are probably spot on.
The sort of things they’re doing on the ground that gives us a sense of security that we’re doing the right thing. But the other feedback is actually a lot of what we’re doing is also in advance. I think in the future Salford is probably going to be a place that people will be coming to see how you deliver projects like this.”
Meanwhile the council has often endured some criticism over potholes but the councillor has reiterated how well Salford City Council has handled the issue.
“Salford’s roads have been identified as the best quality in Greater Manchester and that’s because of decisions we’ve taken to put massive investment into the quality of our highways,” he said.
“We’ve got a legal duty to make sure we fix potholes within 48 hours but more important than that is actually to resurface roads and keep them in generally good condition. We’ve been very good at that. This is one of the main areas I’ve seen the most progress in.
Another would be road safety in Salford. The number of road traffic fatalities and people seriously injured has fallen to a third of what it was 10 years ago. It’s still too many but it’s been a dramatic fall. That’s partly due again to the investment in traffic calming measures that we’ve seen throughout the city.”
If you are concerned about any deep potholes in your area, download the Salford City Council app and take a photo of the pothole in question. The council will then endeavour to follow it up.
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