CALLS have been made to use a “windfall” of £551,000 on fixing roads in Blaenau Gwent.

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council last week, councillors received a report which showed the council had made £551,000 from investment returns between April and the end of September 2024.

Opposition Independent group leader, Cllr Wayne Hodgins said: “It’s a good report and reflects on the work of our s151 officer and her team who invested wisely.

“We’ve managed to take advantage of the high interest rates at the time and achieved £551,000 in interest.

“Are we in a position to use this windfall to invest in our biggest asset which is our highways infrastructure.”

He explained that the council’s environment directorate which is responsible for roads are “always” showing financial deficits.

“Our current highway network is not of the standard our residents would like or are entitled to,” said Cllr Hodgins.

Council leader Labour’s Cllr Steve Thomas explained that talks had been taking place between cabinet members and senior staff on potential road repairs, but funding could come from another source.

Director of corporate services and s151 officer, Rhian Hayden said: “The decision on how we use our budget is one for council and the decision to use funding to invest in the highways network is your prerogative.

“We still have to wait to the end of the (financial) year to understand the full result.

“It is currently offsetting some of our identified in year pressures.”

Ms Hayden added that the council was expecting funding to come from the Welsh Government for road repairs.

Ms Hayden said: “We haven’t had formal notification yet, but we are expecting specific funding for 2025/2026 that will enable us to invest in some of our highways.”

Cllr Thomas told Cllr Hodgins that talks could happen once the “detail” of the funding had been given to the council.

Cllr Hodgins said: “That’s music to my ears.”

Deputy council leader and environment portfolio holder, Labour’s Cllr Helen Cunningham said: “The state of our highways is a recurring theme in our meetings and probably for many council’s in Wales considering how the funding has or hasn’t come in in the past few years.”

She reminded councillors that there had been a road repairing programme for “A” roads in the county borough that are used: “most heavily and frequently.”

Cllr Cunningham said: “I think there is a conversation to be had on whether we look to have a more residential programme.”

She cautioned that with a “windfall” there are multiple financial pressures that the council could use it on, and it is up to councillors to look at the “big picture” on where best to invest it.

Councillors noted the report.

The cost of fixing potholes in Wales is estimated to be around £16.3 billion. This includes the cost of repairing vehicles damaged by potholes, which has reached a record high with extreme weather adding to the deterioration of local roads