Government pledges extra £72m for region's roads

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander visited Loughton while a residential road was being repaired

The East of England will receive an extra £72m for pothole and pavement repairs next year, the government has announced.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC that "too many of our roads are plagued by potholes".

Conservative Lesley Wagland, a deputy leader at Essex County Council, said the local authority was "always grateful" for money to help fill potholes.

Only 36% of local roads in the region are in good structural condition, according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance.

"We've had a decade of neglect, really, when it comes to the funding of our roads," said Alexander, speaking during a visit to Loughton in Essex on Thursday.

"I'm really keen to see that get out to local councils starting next year to bring that change the public want to see."

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the increase in pothole funding in the East of England was "very significant"

The Labour government says it is investing £1.6bn into highways maintenance across England.

About £271m will go to the East of England - £72m of which it said was extra money that had not already been promised.

The total funding for each area, including what is new funding, is:

• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough = £37.5m (+£10m)

• Bedford = £6.3m (+£1.67m)

• Central Bedfordshire = £9.7m (+£2.57m)

• Essex = £45.8m (+£12m)

• Hertfordshire = £35.67m (+£9.3m)

• Luton = £2.85m (+£725,000)

• Norfolk = £56.1m (+£15.16m)

• Southend-on-Sea = £2.8m (+£724,000)

• Suffolk = £43.77m (+£11.7m)

• Thurrock = £3.8m (+£985,000)

• West Northamptonshire = £14.6m (+£3.88m)

• North Northamptonshire = £12.37m (+£3.28m)

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "This is the biggest one-off road maintenance funding settlement councils in England have ever been given.

"We have high hopes it's the turning point that ends the degradation of our roads."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "Broken roads can risk lives and cost families hundreds if not thousands of pounds on repairs.

"That's a cost that can easily be avoided by investing properly in our roads."

On the extra £12m Essex is receiving, Wagland said: "It's never really enough.

"But we did manage to do £100m on our roads this year as Essex, of which £70m was from our own budgets.

"We are really determined to do the very best we can to keep the roads in good order."

The Asphalt Industry Alliance said it would cost £2bn to fix all the roads in the East of England alone.

Last year, the previous Conservative government allocated an additional £200m towards road maintenance in England.