Cheshire West & Chester Council to benefit from pothole repair funding boost - local authorities get £500 million to fix potholes across England.

Cheshire West & Chester Council has been told (15 February 2021) that it will share in extra funding to help fix local roads this year. Nationally, £500 million will be given to local councils for additional highways maintenance, with the money expected to fix the equivalent of 10 million potholes across the country. It is the second instalment from the Government’s £2.5 billion Potholes Fund. In total, CWaC will receive £11,898,000 for Highways Maintenance which includes £4,413,000 for pothole repairs.

Cheshire West & Chester Conservative councillors know the condition of local roads and pavements is of great interest to many residents and have been raising their concerns in recent weeks.

Commenting, Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Margaret Parker said:

“Residents right across the Borough have told their councillors about roads and pavements that are a risk to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. This issue crosses party lines. With the money announced this week, we will be asking Cheshire West & Chester Council to make sure this money is utilised as quickly as possible across the whole area, both rural and urban.”

Shadow Cabinet Member for the Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Cllr Simon Eardley said:

"At the CWaC Cabinet meeting last week future plans around the Council's highways maintenance contract were discussed. Across the Borough we know from recent customer satisfaction surveys that the opinion of local residents should be of great concern to the leadership of the Council: there’s serious dissatisfaction with the condition of roads, there’s serious dissatisfaction with the speed of repair of roads; 20 out of 23 key benchmark indicators are below the national average and the overall satisfaction level is well below the national average. This isn't good enough. This funding is a welcome boost but we need to see it deployed quickly and effectively to improve the situation that local taxpayers find themselves with as they try and get about across the highways network."

Transport Minister (Baroness) Charlotte Vere added:

“We know potholes are more than just a nuisance – they can be dangerous to drivers and cyclists alike, and cause damage to thousands of vehicles every year. The funding allocated this week will help councils ensure roads in their area are kept up to standard, and that the potholes that blight road users can be dealt with promptly.”

Full details of the funding announcement can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/.../highways-maintenance-funding...