£500k for pothole repairs

Rochdale Council will receive almost £500,000 from the Government for pothole repairs.
The Chancellor announced in his Budget that the money available for pothole repairs has been doubled. In February the Department for Transport announced that £100m was available, further savings mean that £200m is now available.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has today informed all local highway authorities of the amount they will receive.In total Rochdale will receive £498,262 from the Government because more funding has become available.

The Leader of Rochdale Council, Councillor Colin Lambert, said: “We will put the half a million pounds to immediate use. We have already put in a quarter of a million in so now we have £750,000 and we will look to see massive improvements.

“Sadly the total cost to repair all the borough’s roads is £54million – so one per cent from the government is welcome, but it doesn’t solve the problem.”

The Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Zulfiqar Ali, said: “Hundreds of motorists across Rochdale have their daily drives ruined by potholes and the awful winter weather we had this year is only going to make that problem worse.

"That is why I am delighted to see that despite the tough financial position we are in, the Government are going to give councils over £100million extra to help carry out much-needed repairs to England's roads."

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: “Potholes are a menace to all road users and I want councils to make fixing them a priority.

“That is why, when more funding became available, I agreed with the Chancellor that we would double the amount of money we are providing for repairs to be carried out.

“This represents a significant investment in road maintenance at a time of severe fiscal restraint, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to maintain our infrastructure to support motorists and businesses.”