MORE than £5 million in funding will be granted to Essex County Council to fix potholes across the county.

Speaking during Wednesday’s budget announcement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged to increase pothole funding from £500 million to £700 million – an increase by 40 per cent.

As a local authority, Essex County Council is set to receive a total of £5,455,200.

It represents a major increase in money available to mend the county’s roads.

According to Freedom of Information requests previously submitted by the Gazette, Essex County Council’s spending on road maintenance – combining both capital and revenue expenditure – sat at £68.5million in the 2017-18 financial year.

In the 2021-22 financial year, however, that funding had fallen to £43.5million.

But Essex County Council’s cabinet member for highways maintenance and sustainable transport Lee Scott said he welcomed the new funding, adding the winter had contributed to the further deterioration road surfaces.

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He said: “The Chancellor’s commitment to day to help local authorities to tackle potholes is very welcome.

“The harsh winter conditions we’ve experienced this winter has had a significant effect on the condition of the roads so the extra support is very much needed.

“I look forward to confirmation being provided on the funding allocation for Essex County Council in 2023/24.”

Simon Collis, a pothole activist in Colchester, said he intended to keep pushing to make sure roads in north Essex receive the requisite attention from the council’s highways department.

He said: “We’ve got to make sure Colchester gets its fair share – Essex has a massive network of roads and people like Councillor Scott have to keep fighting for that funding.

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“We welcome any additional funds, but it needs to be targeted where there are potholes across the city, because a lot of parts of Colchester seem to be left out.

“We, as taxpayers, are paying – the funding is welcome but the roads aren’t going to fix themselves.”

The £5.4 million pothole package has been surpassed by levels of funding enjoyed by other authorities, however.

Devon County Council is set to receive £9.4 million in funding from the government, with Lincolnshire County Council and North Yorkshire County Council to receive £6.9 million and £6.6 million respectively.