All the roundabouts that are due for repair in Preston, Chorley and South Ribble to stop them breaking up

Lancashire County Council’s cabinet gave the go-ahead to the schemes as part of a broader programme of surface repairs to roundabout junctions.

Meanwhile, there has been a call for highways officers also to turn their attention to the county’s painted-on mini-roundabouts, some of which, one councillor claims, are vanishing because they are overdue a fresh coat of paint.

Twenty-one roundabouts are in line for the preventative work, for which £155,000 has been set aside from a £530,000 pot approved by cabinet members back in May. They include junctions on main routes in and out of Preston and Chorley.

County Cllr Scott Smith, lead member for highways on the authority, said that the projects would involve taking a “targeted approach to sections of roundabouts” to stave off potential problems.

A report presented to the cabinet meeting at which the plans were approved stated that a number of Lancashire's roundabouts had been found to be “at the optimum time” for measures like joint sealing.

Members were told that the proposed approach would be more cost effective than waiting for the surfaces to deteriorate, because the life of the roundabouts would be extended and the cost of future repairs reduced.

In recent years, County Hall has relied on so-called “surface dressing” as its main method of preventing road surfaces from degrading, but that technique - based on both improving the surface and sealing it to prevent future water damage - is not deemed suitable for roundabouts.

The remaining £375,000 of the available budget will be used for what County Cllr Smith described as “more comprehensive”, full resurfacing schemes. Those projects - details of which will be brought forward later in the year - will focus on roundabouts that have already witnessed an increase in the need for regular repairs.

Labour opposition group leader Azhar Ali welcomed the investment, but wanted “a priority” made of bringing marked roundabouts that have “faded away” back up to scratch.

“Normally in the summer holidays, a lot of them are repainted, but I can give you a list …[where] it’s actually dangerous because the markings have completely gone,” said County Cllr Ali, who was speaking specifically about the Pendle district.

County Cllr Smith said that he would investigate any individual examples of faded markings and encouraged members of the public with similar concerns in any part of Lancashire to use the Love Clean Streets App to report the problem.

The £530,000 cash injection into roundabout maintenance has come from an additional £5.1m in highways cash handed to Lancashire County Council by the government after the Spring budget.

If the preventative work costs more than expected, the investment in full resurfacing schemes will be correspondingly reduced.

CENTRAL LANCASHIRE ROUNDABOUT REPAIRS...

These are all the roundabouts that will undergo preventative work and the county divisions in which they sit:

CHORLEY

A674 Millennium Way/Botany Bay Roundabout - Chorley North

A581 Southport Road/Balshaw Lane/Westway Roundabout - Chorley Central

A675 Brimmicroft Roundabout - Hoghton with Wheelton

Claremount Avenue Roundabout - Chorley Central

PRESTON

Chain Caul Way/Nelson Way Roundabout - Preston South West

SOUTH RIBBLE

A6 London Way/Brownedge Road Roundabout - Lostock Hall and Bamber Bridge

Sir Frederick Page Way Roundabout - South Ribble East

...AND THE REST OF THE COUNTY

BURNLEY

B6434 (M65, junction 11), Princess Way Whittlefield Interchange Roundabout - Burnley Central East

FYLDE

A583 (M55, junction 4), Marton Circle Roundabout - Fylde West

Amy Johnson Way Roundabout - St. Annes North

LANCASTER

A6 Scotland Road/Burton Road Roundabout - Lancaster Rural North

A6 Keer Level Roundabout (Scotland Road/Carnforth Link Road) - Lancaster Rural North

PENDLE

A682 Churchill Way/Hollin Bank Roundabout - Brierfield and Pendle East

A682 Colne Road/Churchill Way Roundabout - Brierfield and Pendle East

ROSSENDALE

A56 Rising Bridge Roundabout - Rossendale West

WEST LANCASHIRE

A570 (M58, junction 3), Bickerstaffe Interchange Roundabout - West Lancashire East

A5068 (M58, junction 4), Glenburn Road Interchange Roundabout - Skelmersdale West

A577 Windwill Roundabout (Stannanought Road/Windmill Road) - Skelmersdale East

B5242 Pippin Street/Tollgate Road Roundabout - Burscough and Rufford

Birch Green Road Roundabout - Skelmersdale Central

Birch Green Road Roundabout East - Skelmersdale Central/Skelmersdale West