Burnley and Padiham’s MP Antony Higginbotham has welcomed a huge £244 million of extra Government funding being given to Lancashire County Council over the next eleven years to provide smoother, safer, and faster road journeys.
The funding follows the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement at the Conservative Party Conference that the £36 billion that would have been spent extending HS2 would now be spent on long-term transport improvements that will deliver better, faster journeys for far more people.
Commenting on the uplift in funding to fix local roads Antony Higginbotham MP said:
Potholes are one of those issues that gets brought up with me at most, if not all, of the open surgeries I hold. People want to see action and this announcement is about delivering it.
We’ve seen some improvements already as there’s been more of a focus on getting the money in to fix our roads. But this latest funding is a game changer. With a long-term financial plan running at nearly a quarter of a billion pounds for Lancashire alone we should expect to see real improvements in the quality of our roads.
It’s what we all expect, and it’s greatly welcomed. I’ll continue to feed in the roads people bring up with me the most.
New plans allow the Conservative Government to invest £8.3 billion, enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of roads across the country, saving motorists up to £440 on vehicle repairs and creating smoother, safer and easier journeys for all.
Across Lancashire local highway authorities will receive £3.6 million this financial year, followed by a further £3.6milliom for 2024-25, as part of a long-term funding plan through to 2034.
This is one of the key cornerstones of Network North to improve everyday journeys. This funding comes on top of the local transport, road and rail budgets allocated at the last Spending Review and in addition to what local authorities were already expecting for the next decade.
This announcement is only possible due to the long-term decision the Conservative Government has taken to redirect every penny of savings from HS2 in transport projects across the country – benefitting more people in more places, more quickly.
Commenting, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
For too long politicians have shied away from taking the right long-term decisions to make life easier for hardworking families - tackling the scourge of potholes being a prime example.
Well-maintained road surfaces could save drivers up to £440 each in expensive vehicle repairs, helping motorists keep more of the cash in their pocket.
This unprecedented £8.3 billion investment will pave the road for better and safer journeys for millions of people across the country and put an end to the blight of nuisance potholes.
