'Major' repairs planned for damaged Leicester city centre roads

Narborough Road, between Winchester Avenue and Dumbleton Avenue, will be resurfaced

A government grant of £830,000 will be used to carry out "major" repairs to two of the busiest roads in Leicester.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has offered the money to the city council to fix damage to stretches of the A4560 Narborough Road and A607 Melton Road.

Both roads will be resurfaced to address cracking and other damage.

The council's highways director Martin Fletcher said the funding "could not come soon enough".

He said: "This new money will provide an opportunity to make a real difference to these important routes with major resurfacing works over the coming months.

"This additional funding is on top of the existing grants we receive each year from government for road maintenance, all of which are invested on a city-wide programme of highways maintenance, including planned work and emergency repairs as they arise."

The stretch of Melton Road, between Loughborough Road and Marfitt Street, will be repaired

The DfT said the money for the repairs had been reallocated from the scrapped HS2 rail scheme.

Deputy city mayor Adam Clarke said: "It means we can carry out major work to ensure two more key parts of the city's road network are in the right condition to be used safely for many more years.

"Narborough Road and Melton Road are important and well-used arterial routes, vital bus corridors and key gateways into the city."

The council said it would aim to resurface Narborough Road, between Winchester Avenue and Dumbleton Avenue, in the summer holidays to minimise disruption.

It has yet to confirm when the Melton Road works, on the stretch between Loughborough Road and Marfitt Street, would take place.