Staffordshire Highways chief demands Government help with roads ahead of crunch budget

The county's roads are plagued by potholes and motorists' misery could be compounded by a cold winter.

County councillor Mark Deaville, cabinet member for strategic highways, has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to clarify the state of Network North funding to county councils, and to ensure highways authorities have the right amount of funding to improve their networks.

Councillor Deaville said: “Last winter was the wettest for over a hundred years, and really took a toll on our roads. In May, we invested more than £8 million extra into fixing defects which has really made a difference, but that type of investment is not sustainable in the long term.

“The way the weather has been at the moment indicates that the coming winter will be just as bad as the last, so additional funding from government to keep our roads in a decent state of repair is absolutely essential.

“Having clarity on highways funding means we can plan ahead for next year. We also want clarity on the nearly half a billion pounds promised to us after the cancellation of the northern part of HS2. This funding is absolutely essential for us to conduct more repairs and structural schemes, and will allow us to plan our road maintenance and upgrades for the next few years.

“With this budget, there is a tremendous opportunity to invest in our highways infrastructure and ensure we can fix more defects, address more gulley and flooding issues across the county, and undertake major structural schemes like resurfacing and bridge repair.”