Suffolk County Council awaiting details from Department for Transport as Ipswich MP demands action on potholes

Suffolk County Council is awaiting further details from the Government after being granted £44 million to fix the county’s pothole problem – as Ipswich’s MP calls for action.

Jack Abbott said people in Ipswich and Suffolk were ‘fed up with broken roads after years of failure’ and urged the council to ‘purge the potholes’.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander recently announced £1.6 billion to tackle potholes across England, which the Government said could fix about seven million issues per year.

However, Cllr Paul West, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for Ipswich, operational highways and flooding, said the authority welcomed the funding a month ago – but was still awaiting details from the Department for Transport.

This included confirmation on what the allocation is for, as it also appeared to include Network North funding announced by the previous government, which he said was already part of its plans.

Mr Abbott said: “Speaking to drivers and other road users right across our town, I know just how much people are fed up with our broken roads after years of failure.

“Thanks to our new Labour government’s huge funding uplift, Suffolk County Council now has the money it needs to take them on.

“There can be no more excuses. From April this year, our county will get £44 million – a whopping £11.7 million more than last year – to purge the potholes.”

Cllr West said: “Although the annual funding from DFT is promoted as pothole funding, we need to take account of the small print from the Government that always exists that this funding is the total for all highway assets – roads, footways, bridges, highways drainage, streetlights.

“In the meantime, we will continue our targeted and enhanced programmes of resurfacing, surface dressing and pothole repairs in Ipswich and across Suffolk, ensuring well-maintained roads as we move through this period of colder, wet weather.”

Mr Abbott said councils would receive funding as the Government looks to rebuild Britain as part of its Plan for Change.

According to figures released by RAC, drivers in England and Wales encounter an average of six potholes per mile, with the average cost of pothole damage being £460.

More severe repairs run a higher price tag, the data said.

Mr Abbott added: “The Labour government promised change. Fixing our broken roads is a big step in the right direction.”