West Sussex adds extra £4m for pothole repairs

West Sussex County Council said it repaired 41,995 potholes in the last full financial year

West Sussex County Council is putting £4m aside to repair potholes.

The authority said it took the decision following a series of extreme weather events that have affected its road network.

The proposed extra expenditure was put to the communities, highways and environment scrutiny committee on Monday for the financial year 2024-25.

The government has said £8.3m saved by scrapping part of the HS2 rail line would be used to fix potholes across the country.

A report to the committee said the extra funding would be used "to continue to focus on proactive measures to tackle drainage maintenance and investigation and pothole repairs and carriageway condition".

It said the significant rainfall during the autumn and winter, along with high ground water levels, had caused widespread flooding of roads.

West Sussex County Council said it repaired 41,995 potholes in the last full financial year. This financial year it has repaired more than 35,000.

It said there were more potholes now due to the "extreme weather" causing "rapid deterioration" of the roads.

A pothole in Cooden Drive, Bexhill, pictured in February

Jamie Sheldon, from Wheelbase Garage in Burgess Hill, says he has seen an increase in damage caused by potholes.

"It gets embarrassing, the amount of times people come to the garage saying 'I'm here again, this has happened'. You have to explain that it's not their driving," he said.

"It's potholes full of water.

"They can't see them, it's dark, they hit them hard."

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