Commercial Services is midway through a 12 week experiment to improve the quality of city highways and paths. Richard White, assistant director of construction and leisure said: "Instead of repairing roads in a piecemeal way, we are looking at the benefits of applying a new system that is area based. This means that we put a team of workers into an area and then move through it methodically repairing pot holes where we find them. "While it is early days indications are that by adopting this system based approach throughout the city we can improve services by 10 per cent and save money."

Over the past seven weeks road gangs have been working in Osbaldwick and Heworth and will shortly begin work in Acomb. Once the trial is finished residents living in targeted areas will be asked to complete customer feedback questionnaires rating the quality of repairs and staff performance. ENDS