The Government announced on Friday 17 November a further £132 million for Hampshire over the next ten years to tackle the issue of potholes and invest in longer term, proactive road maintenance.
Councillor Nick Adams-King, the County Council’s Cabinet Member for Universal Services, said: “This is welcome news for Hampshire and follows significant lobbying by the County Council to make the case for additional money, nationally, to help reverse the deterioration of our roads after years of underfunding. Having a ten-year settlement confirmed enables us to plan ahead carefully with more certainty, and to allocate and prioritise resources more effectively. The money will help to tackle the challenges of unprecedented demand, soaring inflation, and the impacts of heavy rain, flooding and sub-zero temperatures. The County Council has already allocated £22.5 million of its own money over the next three years to repair potholes and other defects and this is already helping to make our roads stronger ahead of another potentially difficult winter period. Working with our highways contractor, Milestone, extra frontline resources have been drafted in to repair more road defects following a dramatic and sustained increase in reported issues.”