FUNDING for roads in Gloucestershire of £150million and delivering superfast broadband to every home in the county by 2021 are being promised by Conservatives ahead of May’s council elections.

The party has published its manifesto ahead of elections for Gloucestershire County Council which includes six priorities that it would deliver should it retain control of the authority.

Launched last night at a meeting of candidates and party activists by council leader Mark Hawthorne, it includes the £150million pledge to increase spending on road repairs and maintenance which would be funded by a combination of existing council funds, government grant, capital receipts and low-interest loans.

Other commitments unveiled by the party includes ensuring every home in the county has superfast broadband by 2021, a £100million investment in school buildings, supporting the creation of 5,000 apprenticeships and £21million for social care.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne said: “We’ve worked hard for the last four years to deliver for Gloucestershire.

“Now we want to set our vision for the future.

“We’ve put more money into repairing our roads before – now we’re promising a massive campaign of investment to go so much further.

“This £150million investment would see a mass campaign of resurfacing right across our county.

“If people want genuine investment in Gloucestershire’s roads, they need to vote Conservative on May 4.”

The Conservative group has also unveiled the first in a series of campaign videos on its Facebook page fb.com/gloucestershireconservatives which focuses on the highways funding promise.

Cllr Vernon Smith, county council cabinet member for highways, said: “The only way to fix Gloucestershire’s roads is by spending more on resurfacing so we can spend less on potholes.

“We’ve been working towards that through our roads first programme – but this would take this so much further.

“Our pledge would see major resurfacing schemes right across Gloucestershire – on a scale that has simply not been seen before.”