Rachel has reacted with disbelief after uncovering figures that show that Warwickshire County Council has failed to claim more than £7 million in road maintenance funding from HS2.
She said it was shocking that the council had squandered the opportunity to claim “free money” available from HS2 to fix damaged roads and carry out road safety improvements in Warwickshire.
Her findings show that while £8 million in funding for road improvements was made available exclusively to Warwickshire County Council from 2016 to the end of 2026, the council had so far claimed just £820,000 of it, or 10%.
With eighteen months to go until the funding expires, the North Warwickshire and Bedworth MP said it was highly likely the vast majority of the money would therefore go unclaimed.
In a letter to the Reform-controlled County Council, Rachel said:
The shocking state of our roads continues to be a source of anger and frustration in North Warwickshire and Bedworth. Around the HS2 works in Water Orton and Coleshill, the impact of heavy vehicles has taken a huge toll on our roads.
I’m sure you will therefore share in my shock that millions of pounds in road improvement funding has gone unclaimed by Warwickshire County Council.
I would urge your new administration to look into this as a matter of urgency, and rapidly identify projects that could make good use of this funding before it expires. The roads around the HS2 works at Water Orton and Coleshill are in desperate need of this money.
The full letter can be read by clicking here.