Key Points
- The Bury Council is planning to put together an £12.9m highways program for the year 2026/27 concerning highway maintenance in the borough.
- The proposed budget breakdown would be £6.6m allocated for the resurfacing of carriageways, £1.4m allocated for preventative maintenance, £1.16m for bridges and other highway structures, and £1m for improvements in footway works.
- Over £1.1m is also being planned to allocate towards the improvement of roads safety in the areas of pedestrian crossings, school safety, and interactive signs in Bury, Prestwich, Whitefield, Tottington, Greenmount, and Radcliffe.
- Other allocations included in the program would be drainage, street lighting, public rights of way, and structures such as bridges, subways, and retaining walls.
- This would include £4.374m allocated from the Mayor’s Pothole fund in addition to the transport and highways budgets that have already been allocated by the council.
- The council’s cabinet meeting on 14 October would be discussing the proposal.
Bury (Manchester Mirror) October 10, 2026 — It is considering a £12.9 million highways programme for the 2026/27 financial year, with proposals for road resurfacing, pavement upgrades, bridge repairs and safety improvements across the borough. The cabinet is due to discuss the plan on 14 October; the investment remains proposed until the council considers it.
What would the £12.9m plan fund?
The programme would direct most of its specifically itemised funding towards the borough’s carriageways. The proposal sets aside £6.6 million for resurfacing, alongside £1.4 million for preventative maintenance intended to address road condition before more extensive work is required.
Other allocations include £1.16 million for bridges and other highway structures, and £1 million for footway improvements. More than £1.1 million is also earmarked for road safety schemes.
The plan brings together several types of highway work rather than concentrating solely on resurfacing. Bury Council’s proposal also includes drainage works, street lighting upgrades, bridge and structure repairs, and maintenance of public rights of way.
Highway structures in the programme include bridges, subways and retaining walls. These assets form part of the borough’s transport network and are included in the proposed maintenance and repair work.
Which areas could see safety work?
The road safety element includes new or upgraded pedestrian crossings, school safety measures and interactive safety signs. The locations identified in reporting on the proposal include Bury, Prestwich, Whitefield, Tottington, Greenmount and Radcliffe.
The reports do not provide a full schedule identifying every site, the type of work at each location or when individual schemes would begin. Those details should therefore not be inferred from the borough-wide list of proposed areas.
The planned measures are part of a wider package that would combine road-user safety work with maintenance of roads, pavements and structures. The stated purpose of the programme is to target funding where it can have an impact on road condition, safety, network resilience and value for money.
How would the programme be funded?
The proposed funding package includes £4.374 million from the Mayor’s Pothole Fund, with the remainder drawn from transport and highways allocations already secured by the council. The reporting does not set out a complete breakdown of every funding source against each individual project.
Bury Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Climate Change and Operations, Councillor Lucy Smith, described the highways network as a major public asset. As reported by Bury Times, Smith said it helps residents reach work, school, health appointments and local services, while supporting businesses and economic growth.
Smith also said the programme was intended to make effective use of available funding to improve roads and footways, maintain bridges and structures, make journeys safer and keep the network resilient. Highways News published the same statement in its report on the investment proposal.
When will a decision be made?
Bury Council’s cabinet is scheduled to discuss the programme on 14 October. The proposal concerns the 2026/27 financial year, and reporting says some projects could continue into 2027/28, subject to approval.
The council’s decision is an important distinction: the published figures describe a programme under consideration, not confirmation that every listed scheme has been approved or that works have started. The available reports do not specify a final project-by-project timetable.
Background
The proposal reflects the council’s stated aim of maintaining and improving the borough’s highways network through a planned programme of works. Bury Council says roads, footways and bridges support everyday journeys as well as access to employment, education, healthcare, local services and businesses.
The £12.9 million programme combines maintenance and safety measures, including resurfacing, preventative work, footway upgrades and repairs to structures. It also includes drainage, lighting and public rights of way, indicating that the proposed spending covers several components of the wider highways network.
Kevin Borras reported for Highways News that the council considers a safe and reliable highway network important to its ambitions for thriving communities and economic growth. The report says the plan is intended to direct funding towards areas where it can improve road condition, safety and network resilience while seeking long-term value for money.
What could the proposal mean for residents?
If approved and delivered, the programme could mean resurfaced roads, improved footways, repaired highway structures and safety measures at selected locations. For residents, the practical effects would depend on which schemes proceed, where they are scheduled and when work takes place; those details are not fully set out in the published reports.
People walking, driving, cycling or travelling to school and local services could be affected by the proposed crossing, school-safety and maintenance work. Businesses may also be affected by changes to road conditions or temporary disruption during construction, although the reports do not give specific traffic-management arrangements or predicted journey-time changes.
The immediate next step is the cabinet’s consideration of the proposal on 14 October. Until a decision is made and individual works are confirmed, the £12.9 million plan should be understood as a proposed investment programme rather than a guaranteed list of completed improvements.
