Councils can plan how to spend their share of a £215 million fund for local road maintenance after funding allocations were published by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
The £215 million is part of a £333 million fund announced in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement for essential maintenance to renew, repair and extend the life of roads in England. This funding is in addition to the £3 billion the government is already providing for councils in England between 2011 and 2015 for highways maintenance.
This maintenance funding could be used for improvements such as road resurfacing, maintenance to bridges or repairing damage to highway infrastructure caused by severe weather events, such as the recent flooding.
Patrick McLoughlin said: "This extra money will support economic growth and development by helping local authorities to get the best out of their local road networks.
"This funding can be spent on measures to bring smoother, safer and more reliable journeys to the travelling public whether they are commuting to work or taking the children to school."
In order to help local residents see where this money has been spent it will be a condition of the funding that local authorities commit to publishing a short statement on their websites at the end of each financial year setting out what and where this additional funding has been spent.
Local authorities are also encouraged to look at the information published by the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme which is leading the way by bringing together the public and private sectors to develop good practice and reduce costs.
