Cllr Philip Atkins. Pic: M Holland

A £1billion fund for building new roads needs to be used to ease the pressure in villages and rural areas, the leader of Staffordshire County Council has said.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling revealed the funding pot would be switched from main highways to other, smaller routes.

Cllr Philip Atkins. Pic: M Holland
Cllr Philip Atkins. Pic: M Holland

Cllr Philip Atkins, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said the news could make a real difference to communities in Lichfield and Burntwood living alongside key transport corridors.

“We welcome today’s announcement which potentially could make a difference to the network here in Staffordshire,” he said.

“Communities in this county regularly suffer when one of the main strategic roads such as the M6 or A38 closes or is part closed – driving heavy traffic onto our smaller networks and causing real problems. Funds therefore need to ensure the national network is more resilient.

“We also want to see the money evenly distributed across the country, meaning county areas can benefit rather than just the larger urban areas. We are seeing a significant amount of development in Staffordshire and this will pick up pace over the next decade.”

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.