A funding boost of almost £3m is being delivered to support East Sussex’s highway network.

The £2.9m investment has been confirmed following the council’s publication of a Transparency Report, which outlines how the local authority plans to support its highway networks.

According to a statement from the council, it is also due to receive a £15.9m baseline grant, with the possibility for a further £2.9m to be delivered later this year if DfT requirements surrounding spending maintenance funding and policy updates are met.

The £2.9m will be earmarked for maintenance work such as resurfacing and pothole repairs, serving as ‘part of the incentive element of Department for Transport (DfT) funding’.

The local authority has confirmed that the sum ‘is not new money’, but rather a single payment that the DfT has used to replace the council’s annual block grant and one-off pothole grant.

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Cllr Peter Griffiths, the county council’s lead member for transport and environment, said: ‘I am pleased we have been able to meet the requirements set by the DfT to receive the maximum grant available to us, which will help us improve the standard of East Sussex roads, pavements, assets and structures.’

‘As well as qualifying us for the incentive element of the grant, the Highway Maintenance Transparency Report enables us to set out publicly an accurate picture of the condition of East Sussex roads, pavements, and structures, and the significant amount of work we are carrying out to keep the network running.

He added: ‘It will, along with money from council tax contributions, help us fund the work needed to maintain the highway network in East Sussex, but we need to be realistic about the level of funding that would be needed to bring almost 2,000 miles of road up to a high standard.’