Extra cash for counties to repair potholes in roads

The fund is being allocated to local councils by the government which includes money from the new national productivity investment fund announced in the Chancellor’s autumn statement.

Oxfordshire will receive £1.315 million from the pothole fund and £3.25 million from the productivity investment fund while Northants will received £1.17 million and £2.9 million respectively.

The money is in addition to the money already allocated to county councils for maintenance.

Highways authorities are also being invited to vie for a share of £175 million set aside for road safety. The money aims to upgrade some of the most dangerous roads.

Among the eligible roads in the south east is the A361 between Banbury and Chipping Norton.

The cash was confirmed by Andrew Jones, parliamentary under secretary of state for transport last week.

MP for north Oxfordshire, Victoria Prentis, said: “Since my election, I have been contacted by a number of constituents who have raised concerns about roads in the constituency.

“The funding will be a welcome addition to local infrastructure budgets, and make travelling around the constituency much safer.”

South Northants MP Andrea Leadsom said: “It’s great to hear that for 2017/18 we’ve been given £1.17m from the pothole action fund to fix some of the problems that local residents make me aware of, along with a further £2.91m from the national productivity investment fund.

“Of course, if anyone is aware of a particularly troublesome pothole then I would encourage them to report it to Northants Highways via their Street Doctor tool.

“I regularly meet with Ian Morris, Northamptonshire County councillor for highways, transport and environment to discuss a range of road issues in south Northants.”

Councillor Morris said: “We’re very pleased to have received this additional cash from the government. In Northants we continue to focus on innovative ways of maintaining and improving the roads, while maximising value for money.

“There’s a great deal of work that still needs to be done and that is why highways maintenance remains a high priority.”