£3m to fix damaged roads

Nearly £3million is being injected into council coffers to help repair the county’s crumbling roads.

Derbyshire County Council has received the £2,946,577 boost from the Government after the wettest winter on record led to a sharp rise in potholes.

However, highways bosses say the funding might not be enough to fix all the area’s damaged routes.

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Announcing the shot in the arm, transport secretary and Derbyshire Dales MP Patrick McLoughlin said: “Damage to roads causes misery for drivers and local communities and the severe weather over the last few months has made the problem worse.

“This extra money will help make a real difference to the thousands of drivers and residents across Derbyshire who rely on local roads, giving them safer and smoother journeys.”

But Councillor Dean Collins, the county council’s deputy cabinet member for jobs, economy and transport, said: “Any extra money is, of course, to be welcomed, but it is unlikely to be enough to mend all the roads that have been damaged by the weather this winter.

“We’ve already got our road workers working extra hours to fix the backlog of potholes over 3,000 miles of Derbyshire roads.”

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In the past five weeks, the council has received an average of 780 road-related calls a week in addition to potholes reported online.

Two large potholes have appeared on the notorious Horns Bridge Roundabout in Chesterfield.

The craters – which have been reported to the county council by the Derbyshire Times – will create more danger for drivers on the accident blackspot.

The Government has already given a total of £200m to councils across the country to repair the nation’s roads.

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Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “Every little helps and it will be welcomed in many areas hit by this year’s bad weather.

“With a £10billion backlog in repairs, however, it is only through consistent long-term funding that the pothole problem can finally be fixed.”

Report a pothole online at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/reportit or contact Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190.