Government pledges taxpayer funding to fix up to 7 million potholes across the country this year
Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, is marking National Pothole Day (15 January 2025), with a visit to the JCB Factory outside Derby, to see cutting-edge technology helping councils tackle potholes.
Derbyshire, highlighted by the RAC as the worst area in England for potholes, is set to benefit from a share of the taxpayer’s record £1.6 billion investment to resurface across England.
This includes an additional £20 million for the East Midlands County Combined Authority, which includes Derbyshire, as part of a £1.6 billion funding for highway maintenance that will enable councils to fix up to 7 million more potholes.
At the J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited (JCB) power systems factory, the Roads Minister will speak to engineers to learn about the latest innovations being used to tackle the pothole plague. She will operate JCB’s ‘pothole pro’, a machine that can fix a pothole in 8 minutes, with a cost of around £30. The ‘pothole pro’ is currently used by 20 local authorities.
The minister will also meet with local leaders to discuss their plans for filling potholes to deliver safer, quicker and less costly journeys for all road users in Derbyshire. This is part of the government’s plans to work more closely with local authorities to ensure they have the powers to spend it where their communities need it most.
As part of its Plan for Change, the government is committed to delivering safer, smoother journeys – reducing delays, saving drivers money and going above and beyond its manifesto pledge.
Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said:
Ben Rawding, general manager, municipalities at JCB, said:
RAC senior policy officer, Rod Dennis, said:
The taxpayer’s latest road maintenance funding builds on the wider support it’s giving to councils to deliver core services and serve their communities. £69 billion of funding will be injected into council budgets across England to help them drive forward the government’s Plan for Change through investment and reform and to fix the foundations of local government.