Nearly £1 million is being spent on repairing the ‘blight’ of road potholes across Nottinghamshire.
Nottingham City Council is getting £117,000 to repair up to 2,208 potholes, and Nottinghamshire County Council will be handed £839,000- enough for up to 15,830 holes.
The Government funding has been made available as part of a £250 million ‘Pothole Action Fund, included in last month’s budget.
However, the money is less than has been provided in previous years, with the Government supplying £3 million towards the problem in 2014.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, said: “I know how important well-maintained roads are to people across the East Midlands.
“Almost every journey starts and ends on a local road, so the government is giving councils in the East Midlands £5.6 million specifically to tackle the blight of potholes in their area.”
Picture: Cracks in Derby Road, Nottingham, now repaired, are a recurring problem
Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Jobs, Growth and Transport, Councillor Nick McDonald, said: “Any funding to tackle potholes is of course welcome and adds to around £800,000 a year we spend on tackling the problem.
“However, a 30 per cent fall in our Government funding for improving and maintaining the road network over the last six years makes it ever harder to maintain the quality of our roads.
“If the Government provided more money for comprehensive resurfacing work, less funding would be needed to carry out repairs and patching up potholes.”
Alan Rhodes, leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said he welcomed the news following more than £212 million savings the council has had to make since 2010 as a result of Government funding cuts.
He said: “As the 11th largest county in the UK, the council looks after a network of around 2,600 miles of road and spends more than £2.8 million a year on carriageway repairs such as patching and filling potholes.”
The council is still working on saving a further £50 million over the next four years due to cuts in funding for other areas.
