Friday 20 June 2014

More pothole funding

Northumberland has been given another £2.9million for road repairs, more than any other county in the North East.
The Government has outlined plans to help fill more than three million potholes as part of a massive investment in the country’s local and major roads.
Councils across England have been allocated £168million 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.
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.”
Northumberland has already received £2.7million from the £183.5million that the Government made available to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather.
This was an emergency payment to help with road repairs following the wettest winter on record and should pay for the repair of 3.3million potholes nationwide. The North East as a whole was awarded £6,298,272, with more than a third – £2,736,241 – allocated to Northumberland.
In today’s announcement, the North East was awarded just under £8million with nearly £3million for Northumberland. It means that in total, the county has received an extra £5,638,148 additional funding in 2014.