MP urges Kent County Council to bid for pothole cash

12th May 2014
MP urges Kent County Council to bid for pothole cash

Gordon Henderson MP has welcomed new Government funding for pothole repairs and urged Kent County Council to bid for extra money to enable more roads to be repaired.

The £168 million Pothole Fund, announced in the 2014 Budget, has opened for bids from councils, with applications closing later this month on the 22 May.

The funding is enough to repair more than three million potholes across Britain, and comes on top of £10 billion already being given to councils in England for local roads maintenance between 2010 and 2021.

Local authorities who get funding will have to sign a pothole pledge setting out clearly how many potholes they will fix by March 2015 so that local communities can have confidence that action will be taken.

Mr Henderson said:

“I have worked closely with the ROAR Sheppey campaign in recent months to try and bring about improvements to the Island’s roads. This is a great opportunity to improve even more roads across Sittingbourne & Sheppey and deal with the blight of potholes following the wettest winter on record.

“I welcome the recent announcement of Kent County Council to invest in a £500,000 programme to repair and resurface The Broadway, Minster and feel that this news provides a further opportunity to improve the road network across my constituency.

“This money would be a welcome addition to the £8.6million boost Kent's Find and Fix pothole repair campaign was given back in March, following the county council’s successful lobbying for funding to repair weather-damaged roads.

“During March, KCC’s Highways Team were repairing potholes at a rate of more than 1,000 a week and Kent County Council needs to once again step up to the plate and bid for this new money in order to continue this good work.

“Investing in Britain’s roads and infrastructure is a key part of the Government’s long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain. By fixing Britain’s roads the Government is supporting local businesses, and making life that bit easier for the residents of Sittingbourne & Sheppey who rely on them to get around.”