COUNCIL LEADERS: Cash to fix Derbyshire potholes isn't enough

The money, which is part of a £50 million government investment to fix potholes across the UK, has been welcomed by Derbyshire County Council, but will not cover all of the work that needs doing, the authority said.

Councillor Dean Collins, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: “Of course any extra money is to be welcomed, but it really is a drop in the ocean compared to the number of potholes which need fixing across the county.

“We’re doing all we can to fix the backlog of potholes over the 3,500 miles of roads we’re responsible for in Derbyshire.

“We’ve already dedicated twelve gangs of highways workers targeting potholes and other defects across the county with repairs.

“We will start a major summer programme of surface dressing roads across the county next month as part of a £23m investment to halt deterioration on key parts of our network.

“As part of this work we’ve also brought in four Jetpatcher machines to help in the preparation for surface dressing and to increase the number of potholes we are able to fill.

“This extra money will help us increase the number of potholes we are able to repair, but it is a long, long way short of solving pothole problems.”

The county council typically fix around 20,000 potholes every year, although last year over 40,000 were mended in a major programme to tackle road conditions.