Councils receive share of roads repair funding
Extra money for repairs to local roads damaged by severe weather.
Councils across England will today (20 March 2014) learn how much they will receive from the £183.5 million the government has made available to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather.
This is an emergency payment from the government to help with road repairs following the wettest winter on record, and will pay for the repair of 3.3 million potholes.
On top of the money being shared out to councils today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the 19 March Budget that another £200 million will be provided for pothole repairs in financial year 2014 to 2015.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:
Damage to roads causes misery for drivers and local communities and the severe weather over the last few months has made the problem worse.
This extra money will help make a real difference to the millions of road users and residents across England who rely on local roads, giving them safer and smoother journeys.
The extra money is being distributed now to ensure that repairs can be started as soon as possible, so that the majority of the damage can be fixed ahead of the summer holidays.
116 local highway authorities in England will receive a share of the funding, along with a one-off payment to Transport for London to distribute to London Boroughs.
All local highway authorities will be required to publish information on their websites showing how and where the money will be spent.
Further guidance will be made available in the coming weeks on how councils can bid for the new £200 million funding for financial year 2014 to 2015 announced in the Budget.
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