Black Country and Staffordshire in £6m pothole windfall

The Prime Minister has said he wants to rid towns and cities of the 'pain of potholes', pledging funding for councils that have shown a commitment to filling them in.

Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley each get around half a million pounds to fix between 8,000 and 10,000 potholes in each borough, while Staffordshire gets more than £4.5 million for 86,000 potholes in the county.

David Cameron singled Wolverhampton City Council out for praise and said: "Investing in our roads is a key part of our long term economic plan. A modern economy needs modern infrastructure, so businesses can create more jobs, commuters can get to work, and families can get on with their lives.

"We have already made an historic investment in Britain's road network – the biggest since the 1970s – including over £14 million set aside for road maintenance in the West Midlands in this year alone.

"And today we are announcing over half a million pounds to help Wolverhampton to rid its roads of the pain of potholes.

"Potholes damage cars, motorbikes and cycles and cost hardworking people money for repairs. Helping fill in potholes is helping hardworking families and we need to do more of it.

"That is why we are giving this extra money which could help fix around 9000 potholes in the area – making a real difference to journeys for businesses, commuters and families in Wolverhampton.

"Wolverhampton has shown it is one of the leading areas in the country in its determination to beat potholes, and is receiving extra cash as a result."

Councils across England are to share £168m to fill in more than three million potholes.

As a condition of receiving the money local authorities are required to publish monthly progress updates on how many potholes have been repaired.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, a former Cannock Chase councillor, said: "Potholes are the bane of all our lives and the funding announced today is an important step in ridding our roads of this menace. But it is only one part of a massive programme of investment to get our country up to speed as part of this Government's long term economic plan. By building, repairing and renewing our key infrastructure we will ensure the future growth and prosperity of this county."

The funding means Staffordshire has £4,578,155 for 86,000 holes, Wolverhampton has £501,599 to fix 9,000 holes, Sandwell gets £537,587 to fix 10,000 holes, Dudley has £567,127 for 10,000 holes and Walsall gets £448,614 for 8,000 holes.