£600,700 to pour into pothole repair

More than half a million pounds is to be given to Oldham in an attempt to tackle the growing number of potholes caused by the severe winter weather.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond allocated £200 million to councils responsible for the upkeep of roads following the harsh weather, of which £600,743 will go to Oldham Council.

Cabinet member for regeneration and environment John McCann said: “This is brilliant news for Oldham and we are really pleased as we have received twice as much as last year.

“We can do some proper repairs with this money that will make a real difference.

“We know the extent of the problems caused by the awful winter and we were left with roads with severe problems that before the cold spell were classed as not in a bad condition.

“We have big projects already under way and we can increase the speed and size of this as it is a significant amount of money.”

Government say the funding is in addition to the £831 million already provided to councils for road maintenance this year and the £3 billion the Government has committed over the next four years.

But Labour’s shadow transport mnister John Woodcock said: “Road users here are in dire need of extra help for potholes after the last winter, but George Osborne is giving with one hand and taking with the other.

“The Conservative-led government has already announced a cut of £432 million to the road maintenance budget over the next three years — the money announced in the budget doesn’t come close to plugging that gap.

“Motorists are still smarting from the 3p VAT hike on fuel imposed by the Torie, they will not be taken for fools on potholes.”

Mr Hammond admitted the cash was made possible as a result of savings the department made earlier in the financial year.

He had already announced £100 million as an exceptional payment to help tackle the higher than usual number of potholes caused by the winter weather. That was doubled in last Wednesday’s budget.

Mr Hammond said: “Potholes are a menace to all road users and I want councils to make fixing them a priority.

“That is why, when more funding became available, I agreed with the Chancellor that we would double the amount of money we are providing for repairs to be carried out.”

Details of what the cash has been spent on must be published by local highway authorities by the end of September.