Northampton MP welcomes £700k pothole fund - partly thanks to his '˜incessant lobbying'

Today the Government has announced a new dedicated fund from the Government to fill nearly 1 million potholes across the UK in 2016/17 - part of a wider scheme to spend £250 million on road repairs up to 2021.

This year Northamptonshire will receive £711,000 to fill an estimated 13,415 potholes locally, though Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire will all receive greater amounts to fix their roads.

Lincolnshire will receive a whopping £1.8 million to make the repairs this year.

The money will be made available to local councils over the next 12 months.

The measure was first announced by the Chancellor in November’s Spending Review, during which he said the dedicated Pothole Action Fund was largely down to the “incessant lobbying” of Northampton North MP Michael Ellis.

Speaking on the formal launch of the scheme today, Mr Ellis said: “This new funding is welcome news for families and businesses in Northampton North who rely on our roads to get around.

I’ve been campaigning for a long time for greater investment in road repairs, and I’m encouraging the

council to make full use of their allocation locally.

“I’m glad that the Government is investing both nationally and locally to improve the standard of our local roads.

“It shows that we are delivering on our commitment to invest in infrastructure to attract businesses and secure Britain’s future.”