Warrington gets £398,367 to fill potholes

WARRINGTON is to receive £398,367 from the government to spend on filling potholes in the borough’s roads.
The money is in addition to £313,559 given in March to deal with road damage caused by the winter weather and brings the total additional funding for road repairs for this year to £711,926.
Department for Transport (DFT) chiefs say the “pot hole fund” will enable the council to fix 7,000 potholes, based on a temporary repair of £53 per pothole.
Across England, councils have been allocation £168 million for pothole repairs.
As a condition of receiving the money local authorities are required to publish monthly progress updates on how many potholes have been repaired.
The DFT say the latest hand-out will see more than £24 billion spent on England’s strategic road network between 2010 and 2021 – the biggest investment in the road network since the 1970s.
Parliament is now considering legislation that will transform the Highways Agency into a government-owned company backed by locked-in funding; changes that will eliminate the uncertain “stop-start” funding processes of the past and save the taxpayer at least £2.6 billion over the next 10 years.
This huge investment in the strategic road network is reflected by a further £7.4 billion committed to local roads in the next Parliament, along with funding from the £12 billion Local Growth Fund.
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 county.”
Councils were invited to apply for a share of the £168 million, which includes £10 million being available for London.
In total 148 authorities applied for funding and all will receive a share.
A greater share is being provided to a number of “model authorities” who were able to demonstrate best practice in highways maintenance. These councils have invested in new technology and initiatives. They have brought in specialist machinery or set up dedicated crews, to help fix potholes or prevent them from appearing in the first place.
All repair works have to be completed by the end March next year.
Councils awarded funding have to pledge to use the money to help repair potholes or to ensure that they do not appear in the first place. They will have to publish quarterly updates so that local residents can see how many potholes or miles or resurfacing has been undertaken in their area.
Warrington’s road maintenance block funding for 2014-2015 amounts to £2,940,000.
Pictured: A Warrington pothole.