THE state of the borough’s roads will once again be on the agenda at the town hall this week.

Two motions have been table to go before Wednesday’s full meeting of Bolton Council on the perennial question of how to fix the potholes and damaged surfaces afflicting motorists.

It comes after this newspaper last month revealed that Bolton had the the second highest compensation bill in Greater Manchester during 2017/18, with complaints rising by 5,000 on the previous financial year.

The first is from the authority’s highways and transport chief, Labour’s Cllr David Chadwick, while the other is from his cabinet colleague, Cllr Ann Cunliffe.

And while the borough’s Tory group is calling for a £10m programme funded by money no longer being used for The Octagon Theatre development and the sale of council assets, Cllr Chadwick is calling on the government to do more.

He is urging councillors to back his motion which “deplores and condemns the deliberate withholding of funds by central government to Bolton Council.”

It also calls upon the government to “make new cash available to local authorities so that the backlog of repairs can be urgently addressed.”

Cllr Cunliffe echoes Cllr Chadwick’s criticism’s of the government but also notes that the amount spent on road repairs per person in the north west is “significantly below” that in the north east, Yorkshire and Humberside and the south west.

She is calling on ministers to “provide proceeds raised directly from Bolton residents through vehicle excise duty revenues”. And Cllr Cunliffe is also seeking backing for the council to write to the government asking for a “fair allocation” of road tax in order to “adequately provide the roads that Bolton people deserve and pay for”.

Meanwhile, the possible impact of Brexit on the borough’s businesses will also be raised by Labour’s Cllr Sue Haworth.

The Harper Green ward councillor is hoping she will find backing for the her motion which suggests setting up a policy development group (PDG) to explore the support Bolton businesses can benefit from as Brexit approaches.

She adds that this would involve partners such as Business Bolton and The Business Growth Hub to develop a “clear proactive offer” where business can seek “Brext Advice”.

Other motions tabled from Wednesday night include one one on the ‘sugar tax’ from Cllr Joyce Kellett, while Cllr Debbie Newall will raise the issue of funding from the ‘tampon tax’.