Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

THIS funding was 1st announced in 2024 and it is jped that it will help deliver road and walkway repair and resurfacing projects across all 6 boroughs of the City Region:- Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.

Allocated by Department for Transport – and set to be accepted at next week’s meeting of the Combined Authority; the cash boost is enough to pay for the filling of tens of thousands of potholes, according to government data.

The funding will not just be used to repair potholes, with local authorities set to dedicate money from the pot to resurfacing roads and cycleways, mending broken pavements, and looking after bridges, tunnels, retaining walls and other structures.

The investment is in addition to almost £4m secured in 2023 to upgrade and repair key parts of the highway network, including bike paths, bus lanes and foot paths.

Cllr Steve Foulkes, Chair of the Transport Committee at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority said:- “Whether you’re on the bus to school, cycling to work or trying to cross the road with a pram, we understand the frustration that potholes cause to people trying to get about their daily life. Years of underfunding and cuts to vital local authority services have meant that many of our Region’s roads are no longer fit for purpose; and it’s a problem that won’t go away on its own. That’s why I’m delighted that, thanks to Government funding, we’re able to dedicate nearly £9m to make travel safer and more accessible for everyone. With this investment, we have a real opportunity to create smoother, safer journeys for everyone. It’s about more than fixing roads; it’s about making it easier for people to get to work, school, or even just enjoy the simple pleasure of a family day out without fear of damage or delay. From our £500m fleet of publicly owned trains and new zero-emission buses, to the more than £70m we’re investing in active travel infrastructure, we’re well on our way to building an integrated transport network that’s faster, cheaper, cleaner, more reliable and better connected."

The new funding is part of a £1.6bn Government commitment to fix roads and pavements across England over the next year.

An increase of nearly 50% on local road maintenance funding from 2023, the funding well beyond the Government's manifesto pledge, and is enough to fix the equivalent of more than seven million extra potholes across the country in 2025/26.

The Government is also making sure authorities collect data and deliver proactive maintenance before potholes start to form. The funding announced has built in incentives, with 25% of the uplift held back until authorities demonstrate they are tackling potholes and poor road surfaces.