Councils across England yesterday learnt how much they will receive from the £183.5 million the government has made available to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather. This is an emergency payment from the government to help with road repairs following the wettest winter on record, and will pay for the repair of a [reported] 3.3 million potholes.
On top of the money being shared out to councils, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the 19 March Budget that another £200 million will be provided for pothole repairs in financial year 2014 to 2015.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:
“Damage to roads causes misery for drivers and local communities and the severe weather over the last few months has made the problem worse.
This extra money will help make a real difference to the millions of road users and residents across England who rely on local roads, giving them safer and smoother journeys.
The extra money is being distributed now to ensure that repairs can be started as soon as possible, so that the majority of the damage is to be fixed ahead of the summer holidays.”
116 local highway authorities in England will receive a share of the funding, along with a one-off payment to Transport for London for distribution to each of the London Boroughs.
All local highway authorities are required to publish information on their websites showing how and where the money will be spent, so check up on your local counties to see where the money will go. It is important to remember that many councils and highway departments rely upon online systems where the public are able to inform them of damage to roads and other highway concerns.
Source; Department for Transport
