Up to £6 million of additional cash is set to be invested in the county’s roads – as politicians welcome the government’s move to boost pothole repair funds across the country.
During a meeting of Bucks County Council’s (BCC) cabinet this morning, portfolio holder for transport, Mark Shaw, said he expects the authority’s portion of funding to be around £4 million to £6 million.
The news comes after Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, pledged to plough an additional £420 million into the country’s crumbling roads during last month’s budget announcement
Cllr Shaw said: “We are delighted with the chancellor’s announcement of a £420 million pothole fund. We predict we should get between four to six million to spend on our roads.
“We look forward to getting that money so we can get started on the work.”
However leader of the council, Martin Tett, warned more potholes are expected to blight the county’s roads if another cold and wet winter his the nation.
He said: “What we will do is discuss the best way of spending that money.
“The important thing is we are ready to respond, I have been very frank with people. If we have a wet winter and a cold winter there will be more potholes.
“That is just a fact of life of the roads we have got. What we have to be ready to do is respond very quickly.”
In March the cash-strapped county council issued a plea to government for more cash to fund the rising number of pothole repairs across Bucks.
The state of the county’s roads deteriorated rapidly last winter forcing BCC to release £1.2 million from reserves to help fund pothole repairs.
The number of potholes across Bucks increased by almost 3,000 in just one month at the beginning of 2018, while concerns were raised by residents and councillors over the quality of road repairs.
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