THE top priority for people on where Wiltshire Council should spend its money is on maintaining the roads.

In a household survey undertaken by the council, 65.2 per cent of the 930 people who took part supported investing money into road maintenance, followed by adult social care services for older people (40.4 per cent). Third was services for vulnerable children and families (33.7 per cent).

As a result, the Conser-vative-run Cabinet at Wilt-shire Council is proposing to put an extra £2.7million into the road maintenance budget, including fixing potholes, bringing the total budget to £21.3m in 2013/14.

This year has been one of the worst for potholes following the cold weather and Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott defended the council’s response to repairing them, rebutting criticism that some of the repaired potholes look ‘tatty’.

She said: “You cannot fill a pothole permanently in this weather.

“You will be throwing away money (if you do).

“When it’s cold, wet and freezing the Tarmac doesn’t stick. We fill in those that are dangerous in half a day with a temporary filling and we get round in the spring when the weather gets better and fill them permanently.”

In Wiltshire Council’s £340m proposed budget for 2013/14 an extra £5.6m is planned for older people and adult social care, an additional £2.9m on services for vulnerable children and families, while an extra £300,000 is planned to be allocated for flood alleviation schemes.