Road repair fund awarded almost £16m

Mark Deaville welcomed the funding but said more investment was needed in the long term

A government windfall of £15.6m has been awarded to Staffordshire County Council to enable it to repair more roads.

The funding was welcomed by councillors, but one senior member has warned of a funding shortfall in the long term.

The Local Transport Grant came after the council's cabinet approved a £60m investment in the county's highways over the next three years.

This includes £15m to fix more potholes.

Councillor Mark Deaville, cabinet member for strategic highways, said it would take a doubling of the current level of government funding over a 20-year period to address the current national maintenance backlog.

"It's good news, but challenges will undoubtedly remain with regard to maintenance of our highways," he said.

Cabinet members heard that £5m would be used to increase the number of crews on sites repairing roads.

It will include funding for a second machine for pre-patching and pre-surface dressing, which can also be used for general maintenance and repairs.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.