Cllr Norman Owen response.

A gimmick is defined in my dictionary as a device for the purpose of attracting publicity - so I would expect that Cllr Norman Owen would be sufficiently familiar with the term to be able to use it properly.
Unfortunately, he applies it to real money, which will make a real difference to the real issue of the condition of our highways.
It is not a gimmick to resurface around 90 roads in the coming weeks from the final £850,000 of a five year investment programme.
It is not a gimmick to resurace at least another 100 roads from an extra £2.8m investment found by the Lead Member for Finance, Cllr Bill Hinds, thanks to extra savings we have made on tripping claims.
It is not a gimmick to set aside an extra £0.5 million to fill potholes in response to the 50% increase in repairs needed as a result of the severe winter.
And it is not a gimmick to top that up with the extra £200,000 the Chancellor awarded Salford in his budget to tackle potholes.
These are a genuine response to the genuine concerns of the people of Salford and Cllr Owen's negative comments are, I fear, symptomatic of his philosophy: he attacks what is good for Salford - because what is good for Salford is bad for Norman Owen.
It is, however, a gimmick for Cllr Owen to be photographed pointing to a pothole he know is in a programme to be repaired. And when Cllr Owen voted for a cut in the budget that includes potholes last year - well, that was just plain hypocrisy.
Councillor Derek Antrobus
Lead Member for Planning