Sheryll Murray MP has welcomed the Government’s announcement that it will give over £100 million to councils for pothole repair. This is especially valuable after the terrible weather this winter caused terrible damage to a lot of our roads.
The Government’s move has been welcomed by the AA who estimate that, if the £100 million is used entirely for roads, it will repair 1.5 million potholes.
The money is in addition to the £831 million already provided to councils for road maintenance this year and the £30 billion of transport infrastructure spending the Government has committed to over the next four years.
Sheryll said, “This money should make a real difference in South East Cornwall to the huge number of drivers and cyclists who are fed up with having to continually battle against dangerous potholes, giving them safer and smoother journeys.
ENDS
For further information, please contact 01579 344428
Notes to editors
Facts on potholes
· Potholes are formed when water freezes in small cracks in the road, expanding and forming a larger cavity (Department for Transport Press Release, 23 February 2011).
· Potholes are a major factor in causing axle & suspension failure, which counts for a third of mechanical issues on UK roads and costs British motorists an estimated £2.8 billion every year (Potholes.co.uk).
· Authorities currently pay out more than £50 million in compensation claims due to poor roads (ibid.).
£100 million+ new funding
· This week’s announcement provides additional funds – over £100 million – to be shared across all local highway authorities in England including London.
· As the damage caused by severe weather was widespread across the country and to minimise administrative burdens for all concerned, the Government will distribute the funds formulaically based on the Transport Department’s existing highways maintenance capital funding formula (which takes into account road length and condition).
· As part of this additional funding, the Transport Department will require local highway authorities to publish a brief note on their website by 30 September 2011 enabling local communities to see how this extra funding has been spent. Councils will need to agree to these conditions by 16 March 2011 in order to qualify for the funding; the Department will then confirm the total amount of DfT funding available and write to local highway authorities informing them of their allocation.
· Funding has been welcomed by the AA. ‘£100 million extra is welcome and if it was just used for patching up potholes, you could probably fill in about 1.5 million potholes’ (Edmund King, President of the AA, BBC News, 23 February 2011).
· Other transport and infrastructure funding. As announced in the Spending Review, the Government is
· Increasing planned capital spending by £2 billion, in order to protect the economic infrastructure of this country. As a result capital spending will be higher in each of the next four years than under Labour’s plans.
· Protecting high value transport investment with £30 billion being spent over four years, with over £10 billion for road, regional and local schemes including: the Mersey Gateway Bridge; £14 billion for Network Rail, including major improvements to the East and West Coast Mainlines; £6 billion for upgrades to the Tube and funding for Crossrail.
· Money allocation based on road condition. To make sure that councils are able to make use of this money as soon as possible, the funds will be distributed to English local authorities based on the amount and condition of roads the authority is responsible for rather than councils needing to apply for the funding.
· Money made available by savings. The extra funding has been made possible because of savings the Department made earlier in the financial year. In order to qualify for this extra funding and to promote greater transparency and accountability, local authorities will need to publish information on their website by 30 September 2011 showing where this money has been spent.
· This funding is being given on an exceptional basis. It remains the responsibility of local councils to plan and manage their road maintenance programmes throughout the year, including appropriate winter resilience measures.