Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper makes trip to Hartlepool after town secures funding to improve roads and fix potholes

Councils across Hartlepool, Darlington, Redcar & Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough have been awarded £83million from the Government to improve their roads, including resurfacing and fixing potholes.

This comes as £8.3billion was reallocated to 102 local authorities across the country after the cancellation of the second phase of the HS2 scheme.

On Thursday, April 25, Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport, and Hartlepool MP, Jill Mortimer, visited Wilton Road, in Hartlepool, to oversee the start of the road works.

The road, connecting Wilton Avenue and Clifton Avenue, is one of the first roads to see changes and has now been completely resurfaced.

Mr Harper said: “It’s making a real difference here in Hartlepool.

"It has given the council the confidence to continue their resurfacing programme.

"They don’t have to hold as much money back now because they have the confidence in that long-term programme and what they can do is more road resurfacing like we see here and less reactive filling of potholes, so you get better roads and more efficient use of tax-payer’s money – so you get more for less.

"That’s exactly what the Conservative Government is about.”

Ms Mortimer, said: “It’s really good news that we’ve got this extra billion pounds in Hartlepool and the Tees Valley for more improvements to transport, and here in Hartlepool, we can see some of that money already going into roads.

"It means that we’re not being reactive to potholes but we’re being proactive in getting ahead of the game.”

Hartlepool is also in line to receive money for a number of transport projects totalling almost £100million.

This includes £50million proposed for improvements to the A689 dual carriageway and £25million for the Elwick bypass.