We will have to deal with roadworks on Thursday the 28th of January between 08:30 and 17:30.

Traffic Scotland details:

Location: A76 B7083 Auchinleck -B743 Mauchline NORTHBOUND Catrine to Kenstey

Description: Single lane closures under convoy working for routine maintenance patching scheme.

We've focused on the state of our roads before here on s1mauchline: What is happening with the A76 in Mauchline

Cathy Jamieson MSP said at the time: In relation to the A76, and the ongoing problems in Mauchline, I also made clear that local people are very annoyed at the state of the road, and expect to see early action taken.

Now that the weather is warming, potholes and damaged roads could be a big problem in the coming months after the big freeze blew a hole in budgets both for emergency winter maintenance and road repairs.

A recent report in The Herald reveals that councils across Scotland are facing an overspend of nearly double on winter maintenance budgets for gritting and snow clearance, with a national bill over nearly £100 million. These figures come on top of a previously-reported £1.8 billion backlog for repairs on roads across the country.

In the mean time East Ayrshire Council is planning to axe services in a bid to save £7 million, the Kilmarnock Standard reports.

Councils are being forced to come up with savings due to a 12 per cent funding reduction by central government over the next three years. These cuts will start to take effect from April.

EAC is currently conducting their Budget Consultation 2010-11. They are keen to consult as many individuals and organisations as possible on their budget proposals and arrangements are in place to give you the chance to learn about the Council's spending proposals and to have your views considered.

The consultation period runs until Monday 1 February 2010. See http://eac.eu/finance/budget/ for details of how to respond.