Hampshire's funding boost to repair the county's potholes

The extra cash has been allocated following the Government’s Spring budget statement last week with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announcing a further 200m for the national Pothole Fund to help repair damaged roads.

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In total, £5,954,400 has been given to Hampshire, with £317,600 given to the Portsmouth City Council area. Hampshire county councillor Nick Adams-King, the executive lead member for universal service, said he was thankful for the funding.

He said: ‘Confirmation of additional Government money for pothole repairs is certainly welcome following an extremely challenging winter where we have seen a steep increase in road defects across Hampshire. We know that the condition of our roads and footways is a key priority for residents, and our highways teams, in partnership with our contractor Milestone, have been working continuously to keep our network in a safe condition.

‘Over the winter period, we have drafted in extra resources to repair more road defects following a dramatic and sustained increase in reported issues.’

Cllr Adams-King added that in the last three months, 16,748 potholes and other road defects have been repaired.

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‘This intense spike in demand, alongside soaring inflation, has forced us to make tough decisions about where to invest our resources, including diverting money away from other highway activities,’ he added. ‘The Government’s extra funding announcement recognises the significant challenges facing highway authorities across the country and goes some way to help us to bridge the financial gap that we face in managing 5,000 miles of road in Hampshire.’