The government is to give Suffolk almost £1.4m to repair its roads – and believes this should lead to the end for 26,000 potholes across the country.
The Department for Transport is giving local councils across the country £50m from its “Pothole Action Fund” in a bid to improve roads over the summer.
It will be spent by councils who maintain local roads – not major Highways Agency roads like the A14 or the A12 south of Ipswich. Essex will be getting £1.5m to repair slightly more than 28,000 potholes.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “I know how important well-maintained roads are to people across the East of England.
“Almost every journey starts and ends on a local road, so the government is giving councils in the region £7.2 million specifically to tackle the blight of potholes in their area.”
Suffolk County Council welcomed the extra funding, but said it would not be spent exclusively on fixing potholes.
A spokesman for the authority said: “The Council will not want to use the funding to repair potholes as isolated pieces of work as to do so is not cost-effective and contrary to the preventative maintenance approach that the Council is now pursuing, as recommended by central government.”
He added: “The £1.384m allocation is a welcome addition to previously allocated highway maintenance funds by the Department for Transport but, given that the Council has itself allocated an additional £10m to highway maintenance for 2016/17 and 2017/18, it will only provide partial assistance in addressing repairs to Suffolk’s highway network.”
Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s transport spokesman, claimed budget restrictions mean councils are in a “frustrating cycle” where they can only “patch up” inadequate roads rather than carry out resurfacing projects.
He said: “While £50 million is a step in the right direction, councils need more than 230 times that amount to cover the £11.8 billion cost to bring our roads up to scratch.”
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