Councils given £168 million to fix local roads
20 Jun 2014 01:10 PM
More than 3 million potholes to be filled as
part of the biggest investment in roads since the
1970s.
The
government today (20 June 2014) outlined plans to help fill more than 3 million
potholes as part of a massive investment in the country’s local and major
roads.
Councils across England have been allocated £168
million of funding from a dedicated Pothole Repair Fund. As a condition of
receiving the money local authorities are required to publish quarterly
progress updates on how many potholes have been repaired.
This is the latest in a series of announcements which
will see more than £24 billion spent on England’s strategic road
network between 2010 and 2021 - the biggest investment in the road network
since the 1970s.
Details of 2014 funding allocations
for individual local authorities are available for download plus
in interactive map
format
Parliament is now considering legislation that will
transform the Highways Agency into a government-owned company backed by
locked-in funding; changes that will eliminate the uncertain
‘stop-start’ funding processes of the past and save the taxpayer at
least £2.6 billion over the next 10 years.
This huge investment in the strategic road network is
reflected by a further £7.4 billion committed to local roads in the next
Parliament, along with funding from the £12 billion Local Growth
Fund.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin
said:
Potholes are the bane of all our lives and the funding
announced today is an important step in ridding our roads of this menace. But
it is only one part of a massive programme of investment to get our country up
to speed as part of this Government’s long term economic plan. By
building, repairing and renewing our key infrastructure we will ensure the
future growth and prosperity of this country.
Today’s announcement follows a competition in
which councils were invited to apply for a share of the £168 million,
which includes £10 million being available for London.
In
total 148 authorities applied for funding and all will receive a share. A
greater share is being provided to a number of model authorities who were able
to demonstrate best practice in highways maintenance. These councils have
invested in new technology and initiatives. They have brought in specialist
machinery or set up dedicated crews, to help fix potholes or prevent them from
appearing in the first place.
Those authorities who have demonstrated good practice
include:
- Northamptonshire – which has set up systems to
track pothole repairs in real time, allowing it to co-ordinate work more
effectively and make sure teams are deployed efficiently
- Hampshire – which has extra pothole fixing
equipment in place to make effective and speedy repairs
- Lancashire – which has done exemplary work forging
links with other highways authorities, suppliers and contractors to allow it to
tackle potholes more effectively and improve its wider programme of highways
maintenance.
All
repair works have to be completed by end of March 2015. We are asking all
authorities who are awarded funding to pledge to use the money to help repair
potholes or to ensure that they do not appear in the first place. Councils will
need to publish quarterly updates so that local residents can see how many
potholes or miles or resurfacing has been undertaken in their
area.
The
additional £168 million pothole funding was announced by the Chancellor
in the March Budget, and guidance for local authorities on how to apply was published in
April.
This funding is on top of the extra £185
million the government made available in March to help repair local roads
damaged by severe weather.
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