COUNCIL bosses have pledged more money to spruce up the borough with new road signs, gully cleaning, tree maintenance and weeding.

Dudley Council plans to invest £300,000 over the next three years in increased tree maintenance following requests from residents for more inspections and work on trees.

The cash will also be used to improve the council’s tree stock on highways and across parks and open spaces.

Investment in tree planting has also been pledged, with council chiefs offering to spend £10,000 on improving tree cover in the borough’s parks and open spaces following a review of the council's tree strategy.

The funding would provide replacements for damaged or diseased trees, which have been felled due to poor condition, plus new planting to enhance overall tree cover.

It would also see public rights of way spruced up with increased cleaning, removal of weed growth and vegetation cut back to allow people to walk and bike in more pleasant surroundings.

The council has also pledged to increase grass cutting from twice to four times a year at closed church yards to improve the look of the sites and improve access to people visiting the graves of loved ones.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, Dudley's cabinet member for environmental, highways and street services, said: "We know maintaining green spaces is really important to our residents, which is why we’re investing in a host of activity which will enhance not only our parks and green spaces, but also public rights of way and closed church yards.

"By introducing these measures we hope to make the borough a cleaner, greener and more attractive place to live."

The council also wants to invest an extra £120,000 over the next three years into gully cleaning, to fund the cleaning of an additional 7,500 highway gullies per year.

The investment plan follows from a one-off funding commitment of £60,000 last year to clean 7,500 of the worst highway gullies most in need of attention.

With around 38,000 gullies across the borough the additional funding will ensure all gullies are cleaned on a minimum four to five-year rotation period to help improve highway drainage and road safety.

The council has also allocated funding for additional replacement road signs, and many borough roads will have markings repainted and refreshed.

Cllr Shakespeare said: "It’s really important that we maintain our roads and help to make driving as safe an experience as we are able to.

"By keeping gullies clean we help with drainage, which not only benefits drivers during wet weather but also helps maintain the road surface for the future.

"Replacing and repainting signage and road markings will also make navigating the borough easier and improve the look of our borough for both residents and visitors."

People can report issues with roads to Dudley Council Plus on 0300 555 2345.

The plans will go before the council's cabinet on Thursday October 31.