THE WEST Midlands will receive £171 million to repair roads across the region and make them safer, the government have revealed.
The funding comes as the government announced last week, on December 20, it will be making a £1.6 million investment into improving the quality of roads across England in 2025/26.
This is 50% more funding than what was allocated to fill England’s potholes this past year and is enough to fix the equivalent of over seven million extra potholes in 2025/26, the government has said.
Local authorities in the West Midlands, including Stoke-on-Trent, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands Combined Authority, will each receive a share of the £171 million.
Each local authority in England will be able to use its share of the £1.6 billion to identify which of their roads are in most need of repair and to deliver immediate fixes for communities, with the government instructing them to use the funds “wisely”.
Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said: “Broken roads can risk lives and cost families hundreds if not thousands of pounds on repairs.
“That’s a cost that can easily be avoided by investing properly in our roads.
“Through our Plan for Change, we’re determined to put more money back into the pockets of hardworking people and improve living standards.
“That’s why we’re giving councils funding to repair our roads and get Britain moving again – with a clear expectation that they get on with the job.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Potholes have plagued motorists for far too long, but today’s record investment will start to reverse a decade of decline on our country’s roads.”
The government funding has built-in incentives, with 25 per cent of this uplift held back until local authorities have shown they are delivering.
The government also announced on December 20 that at least 50 per cent of surplus lane rental funds will be reinvested into highway maintenance.
Lane rental schemes allow local highway authorities to charge companies for the time that works occupy roads and streets.
These are currently approved by the Secretary of State, however, plans to devolve this responsibility to local mayors are being considered.
On top of this, the Transport Secretary announced a clampdown on disruptive street works, doubling Fixed Penalty Notices for utility companies who fail to comply with rules and extending charges for street works that run into the weekend.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands said: “A lack of funding has left our region’s roads in an embarrassing state - cratered with dangerously deep potholes and leaving road users to pay the price for broken promises.
“Securing this extra Government funding directly to our local councils means they’ll finally have the funding to be able to deal with the problem - fixing more roads and pavements to make journeys better.”
Road users in the West Midlands are also being encouraged to report potholes in their area to their local council through a dedicated Gov.uk page.
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