Suffolk County Council to borrow £21m for road repairs

The council plans to resurface and repair a quarter of the roads it is responsible for

A £21m loan could be taken out by Suffolk County Council in a bid to fix the county's roads.

Under the plans, 1,000 miles (1609km) of roads in Suffolk will be resurfaced by March 2021, it said.

The proposals were revealed as part of a report recommending what the council's budget for 2018/19 should be.

The council said the money would be used to resurface and repair a quarter of the roads it is responsible for, and it would be paid back over 15 years.

Conservative councillor Jane Storey, deputy leader and interim cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "This significant amount of additional funding is a clear demonstration that we are committed to investing in our roads to improve conditions for local people and Suffolk businesses."

It is planned to borrow the money from the Public Works and Loan Board, the lending authority for local councils.

The loan bid is to be considered for approval by the council's cabinet and full council meetings between now and next month.

If agreed, the funding would boost Suffolk Highways' road maintenance and improvement spending in 2018/19 alone by 21%, £40m in total.