Mims Davies MP has today welcomed news that both West Sussex County Council and East Sussex County Council are set to invest more funds in their highway repairs this year.
West Sussex County Council and East Sussex County Council are set to invest a combined total of £8.5 million of additional funds to maintaining the county’s highways and roads following a sharp increase in the number of safety defects and issues being reported by residents.
Last year, Sussex experienced one of its hottest summers, which was then followed by higher-than-average rainfall from September to January combined with extremely cold periods in the winter months. These extreme fluctuations in the weather caused repeated expansion and contraction of the road surfaces, which led to a higher-than-normal number of potholes forming.
West Sussex County Council is investing a further £4.5 million, meaning a total boost of £14.5 million to funding for highways operations with the rest being made up of the £7 million increase in funds for road maintenance from the Council’s capital budget, and £3 million allocated to the county by central government for pothole repairs.
Similarly, East Sussex County Council is set to invest an additional £15.7m in its highway repairs. By increasing the capital programme by £5.1m per annum, to give an annual investment of £23.2m frontloaded with an additional early investment of £5m on top focused on the largest proportion of the network, the unclassified roads which are in the poorest condition.
Commenting, Mims Davies MP, said:
I raised concerns with WSCC Leadership recently asking whether this is a matter of more funding and more resources stressing we need a concerted effort on repairs plus wider road network intervention. Therefore, I am delighted to see this latest round of funding announcements,
Meanwhile, I have been assured that 25,500 potholes have been filled across West Sussex in the last nine months however the severe cycle of weather we have been experiencing leads to a new influx of pothole reports.
Commenting, Cllr Joy Dennis, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport of WSCC, said:
This year, the County Council has agreed to exceptional one-off funding of £4.5million which is in addition to our agreed yearly budget for road maintenance. I am confident that this will enable us to tackle the majority of the current backlog of repairs through the summer months and provide smoother journeys to residents.
If you are travelling outside of the county, you will need to report any potholes to the responsible highway’s authority.
East Sussex: https://www.eastsussexhighways.com/report-a-problem/roads/pothole-in-road
Hampshire: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems/potholes
Kent: https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem
Surrey: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/do-it-online/report-it-online