Grayling gives councils £100m for post-winter repairs

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has announced almost £100m extra cash for councils to help repair roads badly affected by recent cold weather.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the money will help repair almost two million potholes, as well as helping to protect the roads from any future severe weather.

 

Officials said the new cash is on top of the £75m already given this year to councils via the Pothole Action Fund.

Mr Grayling said: ‘We have seen an unusually prolonged spell of freezing weather which has caused damage to our local roads.

‘We are giving councils even more funding to help repair their roads all road users can enjoy their journeys without having to dodge potholes.’

Mr Grayling previously allocated £2.5m to Devon County Council to repair the A379, which was badly damaged by Storm Emma.

The RAC's head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, said: 'Whilst extra money is welcome, recent independent analysis suggests there is a backlog of repairs totalling £9bn, so this is still a drop in the ocean when looking at the scale of what is required to fix our local roads. Poor quality road surfaces are not just a nuisance, they result in expensive repairs for drivers and can be fatal to cyclists.'