HIGHWAYS officials in Staffordshire have welcomed £10.5million towards pothole repair in the county, but say more is needed to fund the county’s roads.
The Government has allocated the funding, but Staffordshire County Council say the money is still less than what was previously committed under the Network North funding plans.
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for strategic highways Cllr Mark Deaville said the challenges facing the region’s roads meant additional cash was needed to tackle repairs.
“More money to fix our roads is always welcome, especially when facing the sort of winter we had last year, which was the wettest on record.
“Over the past eight months since we invested an addition £8million into fixing more roads in Staffordshire, we have completed around 28,000 pothole repairs and increased our gulley cleaning activities by 18%.
“What is clear though is that this money announced is a tiny fraction of the £472million previously committed to Staffordshire’s roads as part of the Network North fund.
“However, we are still calling for more clarity on funding, and more funding in general which will allow us to continue to fix more roads, and ensure they are in the best condition possible for ay similar weather events.
“It will also enable us to carry out more long term, proactive repairs such as resurfacing.
“This will not only improve productivity, but will also greatly enhance the long-term condition of our highway.”