Northamptonshire roads to benefit from £6.7million government grant

Northamptonshire's roads are set to benefit from a £6.7million grant from the government.
The funding will go towards pothole repairs, keeping bridges safe, and other repair worksThe funding will go towards pothole repairs, keeping bridges safe, and other repair works
The funding will go towards pothole repairs, keeping bridges safe, and other repair works

The cash formed part of £420million highways capital investment in the government’s autumn budget, with Northamptonshire County Council receiving £6.772million as a grant from the Department for Transport.

The funds are set to be allocated to support the repair of potholes, keep bridges and structures open and safe, and to aid other minor works.

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Speaking about the grant at Tuesday’s county council cabinet meeting (December 11), portfolio holder Councillor Ian Morris said that the money had been ‘hard fought for’, and praised Corby and East Northamptonshire MP Tom Pursglove for ‘working tirelessly to get the money for us’.

Councillor Morris said: “This is a good example of how working with officers has helped achieve a really good result for the highways maintenance budget.”

He indicated that the Oundle North Bridge could be a recipient of up to £1.3million of this money. Back in May, repairs were estimated at £750,000 but the council had no funds. But no firm details of the projects chosen have yet been announced.

The funds are allocated to be spent for the current 2018/19 financial year, and fellow cabinet member Dr Andy Mercer asked whether future projects could be ‘pulled forward’ to this financial year, in order to free up finances next year to be allocated to the Ditchford Lane project connected to Rushden Lakes, which he said should be a ‘very high priority’.

Councillor Morris replied: “We have a number of projects that are a high priority, and while we don’t want a rush job to spend that money, we do want to prioritise things like the Ditchford bridge.”