Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman has welcomed news that local road-users will benefit from a dedicated £2.5 million pothole fund, which will keep the country moving. The cash is part of a £1.2 billion fund for local road that the Government is allocating to councils to repair and rebuild our transport links.

This funding will improve roads, cut congestion and improve journey times. It includes money from the new National Productivity Investment Fund, announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement and the Pothole Action Fund. It also includes £75 million which councils can bid for to repair and maintain local infrastructure such as bridges, street lighting and rural roads.

Local motorists will benefit from the dedicated funding after the Government announced that nearly £50 million of funding will be made available to local councils over the next 12 months. This is part of a wider package totalling £8,089,000 across the East Midlands.

The Government has also published further information about what the funding will be spent on – the latest step in our economic plan to stimulate the economy and build a country that works for everyone.

Matt commented, “The state of our roads is consistently raised with me by local residents and remains a great source of frustration for drivers. This funding is welcome news for families and businesses in Lincolnshire who rely on our roads to get around. It builds on the £1.8 million we got last year and is the latest step in our plan to build a country that works for everyone. The announcement shows that we are delivering on our commitment to invest in infrastructure to attract businesses and secure a better future for local businesses.’

• To see how many potholes will be filled in your postcode, go to postcode checker, or to see an interactive map of how many potholes are going to be filled in 2016/17 in your local authority area, check the map.
• Councils across England are receiving a share of £1.2 billion local roads funding for the 2017/18 financial year. The £1.2 billion for 2017/18 consists of:
• £210 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement when the Chancellor committed to invest an extra £1.3bn improving the road network over the course of the Parliament. £185 million will be allocated to local highway authorities in England, outside London, to improve local highways and public transport networks, which also includes £25 million for safer roads to tackle some of the most dangerous A roads;
• £801 million to be shared across local highway authorities in England, outside London, to help improve the condition of local roads;
• £70 million to be shared across local highway authorities in England, outside London, from the Pothole Action Fund which will help repair over 1.3 million potholes;
• £75 million from the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund, inviting local highway authorities in England, outside London, to compete for funding to help repair and maintain local highway infrastructure, such as bridges, lighting and rural roads.
• £75 million from the Highways Maintenance Incentive Element which invites to complete a self-assessment questionnaire in order to reward those who demonstrate they truly understand the value of their asset.

(DfT, Road funding: information pack, January 2017).

The Pothole Action Fund was first announced in April 2016. Over 100 councils in England received funding to help remove around 943,000 potholes from local roads during the first year alone. The funding has been made available as part of the £250 million Pothole Action Fund included the 2015 Budget will fix over 4 million potholes by 2020/21 (DfT Press Release, 7 April 2016, link).