THE new head of Highways Management at Worcestershire County Council has made driving up standards with road maintenance his top priority.

Potholes, road gullies and street lighting are all on the agenda for Paul Jameson, who took over at the start of this month after Jeff Romanis retired as Head of Infrastructure.

In the reworked position, Mr Jameson, who spent 17 years as head of technical services at Lincolnshire County Council, will be in the hot-seat for all highway maintenance issues, co-ordinating closely with the highways team and placing greater emphasis on road maintenance standards.

He said: "Worcestershire has made a tremendous commitment to improving highway maintenance by increasing the budget by £1 million each year. To me, this gives an exciting opportunity to be able to make a real difference to the condition of the highway network.

"I shall be aiming to ensure that we return the network to a satisfactory condition as soon as we possibly can by continuing with the good work done so far."

He said taxpayers complaints regarding the condition of roads should first be routed to the Highways Partnership based at Pershore Civic Centre on 01386 565192.

Mr Jameson added: "Now I hope that when a pothole is reported we will be able to give an approximate time when it will be repaired."

l VALE motorists will be able to find the safest routes through ice and snow this season with a free guide.

'Winter Gritting Routes' includes a map of the county's roads with standard gritting routes highlighted, is available to view on the county's website, www.worcestershire.gov.uk.

It is available from local Highways Partnership Unit offices, council One-Stop Shops or by calling 01905 766773.