North West’s potholes to be filled with £177m

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has announced the funding for next year, which would help local councils to fix the equivalent of 7m potholes.

Funding to the tune of £177m will be distributed across Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire, and the Liverpool City Region each receiving a share.

Each authority will be able to use its share of the country-wide £1.6bn funding package to identify their most critically damaged roads and deliver immediate fixes.

Lancashire County Council will receive £47m, Westmorland and Furness Council will get £31m, and Cumberland Council is set to receive £26m.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority will take £15m, almost double that of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which will be offered £8.7m.

Cheshire East Council will get £21m while Cheshire West and Chester Council will receive £15.5m. Warrington Council will be offered £7m, Blackburn with Darwen Council £3.8m, and Blackpool Council will get £2.6m.

The move is part of the government’s Plan for Change and comes off the back of a record £1.6bn government investment across England, raising local road maintenance funding by almost 50%.

Secretary Alexander said that the investment would reverse a “decade of decline” of the country’s roads and fix potholes that have “plagued motorists for far too long”.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said potholes are a “daily frustration and a symbol of the wider disrepair caused by austerity”, but noted that the cash injection would give the government “a chance to put things right”.

Additionally, the government has announced at least 50% of surplus lane rental funds will be reinvested into highway maintenance.

Lane rental schemes allow local highway authorities to charge companies for the time that street and road works use the road. The potential for these powers to be devolved to mayoral level from the secretary of state is also being considered.

Rotheram added: “For far too long, local councils have been left scrambling to fix our roads with one hand tied behind their backs after years of funding cuts.

“With this investment, we have a real opportunity to create smoother, safer journeys for everyone.”

Figures from insurer RAC suggest drivers encounter an average of six potholes per mile in England and Wales. The AA has said fixing potholes is a priority for 96% of drivers.

Funding will have built-in incentives to ensure councils deliver, 25% of the funding uplift will be held back until the receipts are collected.