Hartlepool's council get's £98,000 boost to tackle potholes

The town has been awarded £98,000 - enough to tackle 1,900 potholes at an average of £53 a time - as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

The statement speech was made in the House of Commons last week, but full details of where cash has been allocated has just emerged.

Coun Marjorie James, chairman of the council’s Neighbourhood Services Committee, welcomed the announcement but said it would not make up for previous shortfalls in funding: “As a result of years of chronic underfunding of roads maintenance by successive Governments, there is a huge backlog of repairs required to the town’s roads network.

“This additional money is to be welcomed as it will help the council to implement its five-year rolling programme of highway maintenance schemes.

“Our practice is to use additional money to enhance the highways maintenance programme by resurfacing full lengths or large sections of road, rather than dealing with individual potholes in isolation.”

The cash is part of a total £3.9million to the North East, enough to fix around 74,000 potholes in 2017/18 or stop them forming in the first place.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced the Government’s newest roads programme, and revealed a proposal by the Tees Valley Combined Authority to develop a detailed business case for a new Tees Crossing has been endorsed by Government.

The commitment comes after additional funding for the improved east-west road connectivity from the A1(M) to the international gateway at Teesport announced in the Autumn Statement.

Coun Bill Dixon, lead member for transport at Tees Valley Combined Authority, said: “This marks an important step forward for two of our transformational transport priorities. They will deliver better connectivity and benefits for the entire North region and wider.”