Sussex and Surrey councils given extra funds to tackle potholes; government warned they 'could take more than a decade to fix'

This comes after a major government funding boost was announced to tackle a ‘pothole plague’ in the UK.

More than £27 million has been set aside for West Sussex, and £21 million has been granted for East Sussex.

For the first time, councils in the South East – including Sussex and Surrey – must publish how many potholes they’ve filled or ‘face losing the cash’.

A £1.6 billion investment – to ‘tackle a scourge of potholes’ – will be delivered to councils from next month as the Prime Minister tells councils to put the cash to use.

Adam Hug – transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association – responded to the government’s announcement of an extra £500 million for councils’ road maintenance budgets and requirements to prove progress to release some of this funding.

He said: “The additional £500 million will help start to address the previously ever-growing backlog of local road repairs, which now stands at nearly £17 billion and could take more than a decade to fix. “Councils already spend more than they receive from central government on tackling potholes and repairing our roads.

“However, it’s in everyone’s interests to ensure that public money is well spent. This includes the Government playing its full part by using the Spending Review to ensure that councils receive sufficient, long-term funding certainty, so they can focus their efforts on much more cost-effective, preventative measures rather than reactively fixing potholes, which is more expensive.”

The government said local authorities that comply will receive their full share of the roads pot, part of the Government’s £500m national boost to fix roads and deliver its Plan for Change.

More than £4bn will be spent across the country to maintain motorways and deliver economy boosting road schemes including the M3 J9 and M25 Junctions 10 and 28

A spokesperson added: “From mid-April, local authorities will start to receive their share of the Government’s record £1.6bn highway maintenance funding, including an extra £79m for the South East.

“But to get the full amount, all councils in England must from today (Monday, March 24) publish annual progress reports and prove public confidence in their work. Local authorities who fail to meet these strict conditions will see 25 per cent of their pothole funding (which is £19.9m for the South East) withheld.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The broken roads we inherited are not only risking lives but also cost working families, drivers and businesses hundreds – if not thousands of pounds – in avoidable vehicle repairs.

"Fixing the basic infrastructure this country relies on is central to delivering national renewal, improving living standards and securing Britain’s future through our Plan for Change.

“Not only are we investing an additional £4.8 billion to deliver vital road schemes across the country to get Britain moving, next month we start handing councils a record £1.6 billion to repair roads and fill millions of potholes across the country.

“British people are bored of seeing their politicians aimlessly pointing at potholes with no real plan to fix them. That ends with us. We’ve done our part and handed councils the cash and certainty they need - now it’s up to them to get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they’re delivering for their communities.”

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the government is ‘unblocking’ South East roads ‘after years of neglect’.

She said this will be done by ‘fixing the plague of potholes’, building ‘vital roads’ and ensuring ‘every penny is delivering results’ for the taxpayer.

Mrs Alexander added: “The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why they will have to show progress or risk losing 25 per cent of their £500m funding boost.

“Our Plan for Change is reversing a decade of decline and mending our pothole-ridden roads which damage cars and make pedestrians and cyclists less safe.”

To ensure councils in the South East are taking action, they must now publish reports on their websites by June 30, 2025, detailing how much they are spending, how many potholes they have filled, what percentage of their roads are in what condition, and how they are minimising streetworks disruption. They will also be required to show how they are spending more on long-term preventative maintenance programmes and that they have robust plans for the wetter winters the country is experiencing – making potholes worse.

By the end of October, councils must also show they are ensuring communities have their say on what work they should be doing, and where. The public can also help battle back against pothole ridden roads by reporting them to their local council, via a dedicated online portal.

To further protect motorists given continued cost-of-living pressures and potential fuel price volatility amid global uncertainty, the government has frozen fuel duty at current levels for another year to support hardworking families and businesses, saving the average car driver £59.