£2.6m now in the pot for potholes

The Department for Transport had already announced £100 million for councils earlier in the year, but that was increased to £200 million in the recent budget.

Winter saw the council having to deal with some 20,000 potholes across the county’s road network, caused by the exceptionally cold weather at the end of last year.

The authority doubled the number of teams working on the roads and introduced a “find them and fix them” approach, which meant highways teams making temporary repairs to as many potholes as possible in one area, in one visit, instead of waiting for them to be reported.

The extra money will be used to follow this up with more permanent repairs.

A county council spokeswoman said: “Last year the council agreed to a proactive two-year programme of resurfacing work on county roads. This £23 million programme of works began in April 2010 and the benefits can be seen in that the resurfaced roads are largely free of potholes.

“We are working closely with utility companies and developers to plan roadworks and keep disruption to a minimum.”

Councillor Matthew Lock, lead cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “We welcome any extra investment in road maintenance and this funding is timely given the severe weather before Christmas.

“We’re making good progress but this work does take time, and we’re grateful for drivers bearing with us while repairs are carried out.”

• To report a pothole, or any other road problems, telephone 0345 60 80 193, e-mail [email protected] or use the ‘report a problem’ page on website: www.eastsussex.gov.uk