BUDGET: Osborne to plough extra £100m into potholes fund

Additional cash to the tune of £100m has been added by the Chancellor George Osborne to the pothole fund, as part of his plans for a ‘Budget for growth’.

The funds will see a doubling of money already promised by the Department for Transport last month to assist in rectifying the issue.

Mr Osborne believes investment in infrastructure and business are two key planks to the recovery of the UK.

It is understood chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, signed off the extra cash for potholes after witnessing the state of the roads in his own Scottish constituency.

£100m has been added to the pothole fund to try and rectify the issue of potholes.

Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, told the The Times he was ‘delighted’ by the move, but that reactive work was not enough.

He said: ‘What is needed is for roads to be rebuilt, but that would cost billions.’

A Populus poll for the paper suggested only 17% of voters believed earmarking funds for public services should be a priority.

Cllr Peter Box, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Economy and Transport Board, said: 'It is good news the Government has responded to the concerns of local authorities by agreeing to the LGA's request for extra money to fix potholes caused by unprecedented winter weather.

'Even as council budgets are being cut, it is vital that highway maintenance is sufficiently funded over the coming years if we are to prevent roads from crumbling into disrepair.

'This extra money will help councils with the enormous challenge of tackling the £9.5 billion backlog in road repairs.'