A £22.9m programme has been launched with eight local authorities to develop new ways of building roads.

Projects range from harvesting renewable energy from roads and innovative data analytics to using plastics in road surfacing treatment.

The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport’s (ADEPT) received 28 bids from local authorities for the SMART Places Live Labs programme.

ADEPT chief operating officer, Hannah Bartram, said: 'Live Labs is a really exciting programme for ADEPT.

'It gives local highways authorities and their partners the opportunity to innovate, test and introduce new applications for emerging SMART technologies across the local road network.'

The eight successful projects are being led by Buckinghamshire County Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Cumbria County Council, Reading Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, alongside joint entries by Solihull Council and Birmingham City Council and Kent and Staffordshire County Councils.

The programme was first announced in January when ministers pledged the funding to help develop new anti-pothole technology.