We’ve all seen politicians dig themselves into a hole – but that is literally what Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood is doing today (Wednesday).
She is marking National Pothole Day with a visit to the JCB factory outside Derby – one of the worst affected areas.
Potholes fixing cash to come from government
West Berkshire is set to benefit from a share of the Government’s £1.6bn investment to resurface across England.
Last February, motorists in West Berkshire reported 10 times as many potholes on the district’s roads than the same time the previous year.
Around 1,881 potholes were reported between January and February last year – up on 116 in 2023.
The government cash will enable councils to fix up to seven million more potholes, according to the minister.
This is part of the Government’s plan to work more closely with local authorities to ensure they have the powers to ‘spend where their communities need it most’.
Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “Potholes are a clear sign of decline in our infrastructure, and for too long roads like those in Derbyshire have been left in a state which endangers and costs road users.
“It’s time for change and we are investing £1.6bn to fix up to seven million more potholes across England next year.
“We’ll continue to engage with local leaders and industry to ensure innovations are being used to deliver roads the country deserves.”
Denise Gaines (Lib Dem, Hungerford and Kintbury) said last year: “We have spent £400,000 more fixing these in this administration than in the last three years,” adding that big potholes were being fixed within three days.
The council says it will normally repair potholes that have a 50mm (5cm) vertical edge and are 300mm (30cm) wide; however, each pothole is assessed using ‘a risk-based approach’.
It has even published diagrams of what sort of potholes will get fixed.
And it has an interactive map on its website which shows where potholes have been reported, giving them each a serial number.
At rough count, there were around 20 reported potholes in the central Newbury area last night (Tuesday).
The council hasn’t yet commented on the Government’s pothole cash pledge, or revealed how much it will get.