Bracknell’s roads are better than many might think, MP James Sunderland has claimed in response to a plea for him to help fix their 'appalling state'.

The Conservative MP said it wasn’t right to say roads are “overdue” for resurfacing – but said he’d be willing to help get more funding from the government for repairs. It comes after 23 town and borough councillors in Bracknell Forest wrote to him about the “appalling state” of Bracknell’s roads.

Mr Sunderland said: “I drive extensively across our local area and I’m not convinced that the roads in Bracknell Forest are any worse than neighbouring boroughs - in fact, it’s the opposite - but I will help where I can.”

In a letter to Mr Sunderland, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors said government funding for road repairs had fallen.

The letter said: “Roads across Bracknell Forest are in an appalling state of repair, falling far short of the standards residents and local businesses should reasonably be able to expect.”

The letter pointed out that in September, Bracknell Forest Council said more than one in ten of its roads are “overdue” for resurfacing. It said the council had needed to spend £1.2 million of its own funds on highways maintenance as government funding no longer covered the costs.

READ MORE: Bracknell roads in “appalling state,” James Sunderland told

But in his response, Mr Sunderland said it’s “not fully objective” to say roads are overdue for resurfacing as their lifespans are judged on periodic inspections.

He said: “As for resurfacing estimates, I am led to believe that these are informed by periodic inspection, so the lifespan of road surfaces does have some flexibility.

“It is therefore not fully objective to state that roads are ‘overdue’ for resurfacing and attempts to extrapolate a percentage often founder on this kind of assumption.”

Mr Sunderland also said the Bracknell Forest Council had previously managed to balance its budget while keeping up a “good record” of spending government money on roads.

He asked councillor Guy Gillbe – responsible for roads – for more information on why the council was now struggling. But he said he had already helped to get extra money from the government – and “looks forward” to getting more in the future.

Mr Sunderland said: “I lobbied to secure additional BFC funding of £377,000 for pothole repairs in April 2023.

“Last month, the prime minister announced that record road funding of a further £8.3bn over ten years will be freed up from the cancellation of HS2, so I also look forward to securing some of that for Bracknell.”

He added: “It will be helpful if you can set out the historic funding shortfall over the last five years for Bracknell Forest Council and what it is you now require. I would of course be happy to assist.”