Councils given government funding to fix potholes
Potholes across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin will be repaired after the government today outlined 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 monthly progress updates on how many potholes have been repaired.
Shropshire Council has been allocated £2,243,888 to fix a potential 42,000 potholes. Telford & Wrekin Council is to receive £420,486 to repair around 7,000 potholes.
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.
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.
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 county.”
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.
