MORE than £1 million will be spent on Prestwich roads over the next 12 months.

Bury Council has earmarked a total of £1,405,060 in the highways refurbishment programme for 2003/4, with the lion's share going towards improving Bury Old Road.

The majority of the budget, £1,060,000, has come from a special capital grant from central government and means Prestwich will receive the most cash for roadworks this year.

However, without the extra bid the area would not have fared as well as other areas in the borough.

Speaking at Prestwich area board, Coun Steve Treadgold said: "I am disappointed that Prestwich only gets £75,000 for structural maintenance, while Bury West gets £173,000 and Radcliffe gets well over £100,000."

His thoughts were reiterated by Coun Paul Nesbit who suggested the area boards should each get an allocation of money to spend on where it thinks needs it most.

The areas highlighted for pavement improvements under the structural maintenance programme, which is paid for by the Council, include Balmoral Grange, Heywood Road, Lyndhurst Avenue, Pennant Drive and Sunningdale Drive.

Capital works will take place in Butterstile Lane, Prestwich town centre, and Bury New Road and Highfield Road will benefit from a local safety scheme.