County Council welcomes additional money from Government for pothole repairs

Councillor Nick Adams-King, the County Council’s Executive Lead Member for Universal Services, 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. In total over the last three months, we have repaired 16,748 potholes and other road defects.  

“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. 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.” 

In addition to the annual funding received from the Department for Transport for highway maintenance, the County Council invests an additional £10m each year into proactive structural maintenance through our established Operation Resilience programme, designed to make roads and footways more resilient to the impacts of weather extremes and heavy use, along with an additional £7m each year for day-to-day maintenance.