COUNCILS across England have today been allocated their share of £500million for highways maintenance, with the South West receiving the largest amount.

South West councils have been allocated £90,031,000 of the £500million funding, which is expected to fix the equivalent of 10 million potholes across the country.

This is the second instalment from the £2.5billion Potholes Fund, providing £500million a year between 2020/21 and 2024/25, announced by the Chancellor in the 2020 Budget – and is part of wider funding the Department provides for road maintenance, totalling more than £1.1billion across England in 2021/22.

With the average pothole costing around £50 to fill, the funding will ensure that the equivalent of 10 million potholes can be repaired, making thousands of local roads both safer and easier to drive and cycle on.

Transport Minister Baroness Vere said: "We know potholes are more than just a nuisance – they can be dangerous to drivers and cyclists alike, and cause damage to thousands of vehicles every year.

"The funding allocated today will help councils ensure roads in their area are kept up to standard, and that the potholes that blight road users can be dealt with promptly."

The Department has already invested heavily in pothole filling since 2015, including the £296million Pothole Action Fund which ran from 2015/16 – 2020/21. It also topped up highway maintenance investment in 2018 with a one-off £420 million boost to all highway authorities in England, including London.

The government says it is committed to supporting motorists. Through RIS2, the government is investing £27billion in the biggest ever roads programme, with £10billion of the record-breaking sum specifically for road maintenance, operations and renewals.