Wakefield Council to be given £22m to repair district’s roads

The funding, part of £6bn being spent nationwide, was originally announced last year.

But now local authorities know their individual allocations of the cash to be spent over the next six years.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Roads play a significant part in everyday life. Poorly maintained local roads, blighted by potholes, are a menace to all road users, particularly during the festive period as people travel to see family and friends.

“It is vital we have good quality roads. This government has already taken strong action by spending £1 billion more on local roads maintenance than was spent in the previous parliament.”

A Local Government Association (LGA) spokesman said: “The LGA has long called for greater funding for roads maintenance so these allocations originally announced in the June 2013 spending review to improve the network are a positive step. However, there is still a very long way to go to bring the nation’s roads up to scratch.

“Previous LGA analysis of the £6bn funding over five years found it equated to an extra £300 million a year on top of the £700 million councils were expecting, but was still £800 million short of what was needed to repair the poor quality of roads in one year alone. So while helpful, this new money does not bridge the overall funding gap which is increasing year on year.”