Chancellor gives £200 million for pothole repairs which will help ‘cut compensation payments’ for damaged vehicles

The Chancellor will provide £200 million of funding to fix potholes across England on top of the £500 million to councils.

Jeremy Hunt said the “wet then cold winter” has resulted in their being “strong representations” from MPs and councillors over “the curse of potholes.”

Potholes are created when water enters cracks in the road and then when the road surface freezes it expands and then holes appear which can get larger over time.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said, “There won’t be a road user in the country who doesn’t dodge a pothole on a daily basis, so any extra money to help fill them in is welcome.

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“However, it is worth remembering there are 190,000 miles of road in England alone so the additional £200 million is going to be thinly spread.

“We mustn’t forget that road maintenance extends beyond the road surface to things like bridges.

“Councils also need the money to shore up the thousands of sub-standard crossings our research has shown are out there.”

Rick Green, who chairs the Asphalt Industry Alliance said, “The Chancellor is right to recognise that potholes on our local roads are a curse, but the key thing is they are not inevitable, they are the symptom of a network underfunded for many years.

“Unlike other transport networks, there is no visible long-term investment plan for local roads and, without one, road users won’t see any real improvement in structural conditions on the roads they use every day and on which all other locally-provided services rely.”

Martin Milliner, claims director at LV= General Insurance, said, “We’ve seen pothole claims rise by 11% in the last year, so investment of an extra £200 million to tackle this is welcomed.

“It will help reduce disruption on our roads and cut compensation payments.”