Councils in England will be given more than £100 million of extra funding to spend on repairing potholes, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced today.
The funding is in addition to the £831 million already provided to councils for road maintenance this year and the £3 billion the Government has committed over the next four years.
The severe weather at the end of last year has left many local roads in a poor condition. Every local authority has a responsibility to properly maintain their roads, including planning winter resilience measures, but this exceptional weather has caused significant additional damage.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: “Millions of motorists across the country have their daily drives ruined by potholes. And the awful winter weather we had this year is only going to make that problem worse. That is why, despite the tough financial position we are in, we are going to give councils over £100m extra to help carry out much needed repairs to England’s roads. I am determined to see the winter damage to our roads fixed as quickly as possible and we will be working with councils to make sure that happens. This money should make a real difference to the millions of drivers who are fed up with having to continually battle against dangerous potholes, giving them safer and smoother journeys.”
MAG says “Considering the worst weather this winter was in Scotland, it is a shame that only England is receiving extra money. It should perhaps also be noted that similar funds were made available this time last year…”
To make sure that councils are able to make use of this money as soon as possible, the funds will be distributed to English local authorities based on the amount and condition of roads the authority is responsible for rather than councils needing to apply for the funding. The extra funding has been made possible because of savings the Department made earlier in the financial year. In order to qualify for this extra funding and to promote greater transparency and accountability, local authorities will need to publish information on their website by 30 September 2011 showing where this money has been spent.