Councils given £100m for pot holes

22 Feb 11
An extra £100m has been found to help meet the costs of repairing pot holes in England, in a move welcomed by councils as an ‘important contribution’.
By David Williams


23 February 2011

An extra £100m has been found to help meet the costs of repairing pot holes in England, in a move welcomed by councils as an ‘important contribution’.

The new money, which Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said has come from savings made elsewhere in his department in the current financial year, follows a request for more funding from the Local Government Association.

Funding will be allocated to English councils on the understanding that they publish information on how it was spent by September 30. Authorities will not be required to bid for the cash – instead the £100m will be split according to the amount and condition of the roads each council is responsible for.

Hammond acknowledged that the severe winter weather had caused significant additional  damage to roads. The money ‘should make a real difference to the millions of drivers who are fed up with having to continually battle against dangerous pot holes, giving them safer and smoother journeys’, he said.

Peter Box, chair of the LGA’s economy and transport board, said councils faced an ‘enormous task’ to keep roads safe after the freezing weather in December.

‘It is good newsthe government has responded to the concerns of local authorities by agreeing to the LGA's request for extra money to fix potholes caused by unprecedented winter weather.

‘Even as council budgets are being cut, it is vital that road maintenance is sufficiently funded over the coming years if we are to avoid roads crumbling into disrepair. This extra money announced today is an important contribution.’

The LGA estimates that the harsh winter of 2009/10 hit the average shire county with extra road repair costs of £5m.

 The DfT has already allocated £831m to councils for road maintenance in 2010/11.

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