Funding for work on Ceredigion’s roads should be maintained at the same level despite Ceredigion County Council having to find cuts, councillors have said.

Cabinet members backed calls from the council’s Thriving Communities Scrutiny Committee that funding levels should be maintained as much as possible.

But there were concerns that Welsh Government funding decisions were being made so late in the financial year it was putting pressure on the authority’s highways department in being able to put together road schemes.

Ceredigion County Council is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of 2,151km of carriageway, 212km of footways, 983 bridges and retaining structures and 6,877 street lights with a combined gross replacement value of over £1.6bn.

Council leader Ellen ap Gwynn said she will take that up with the Welsh Local Government Association, saying that the lateness of confirmation of funding often put pressure on council officers, even though they tried to ensure that schemes were in place if funding was announced.

Cllr ap Gwynn said she agreed that trying to maintain current funding levels was important and said she was hopeful that more funding could be provided for schemes on minor roads, with highways Cabinet member Dafydd Edwards saying that the highways department would like to be able to spend more on the county’s roads.

Cllr Gwyn James, the chair of the scrutiny committee, said: “We understand we can’t put any more in, but we shouldn’t reduce what’s available.”

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