Extra £12m to fill region's potholes, mayor reveals

Six councils are to receive an extra £2m to help fill thousands of potholes and resurface roads across the West Midlands.

The £12m funding – enough to fill 132,000 potholes and subject to final government sign-off - will be shared between Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

It follows a grant of £8m that Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker secured from the government in February.

It will also pay for new low-carbon surface treatments, developed in the region, described by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) as "pioneering". They will be applied to roads to extend their lifespan as well as reduce carbon emissions.

Parker has re-allocated the cash to road repairs from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) fund.

"I know that too many of our roads are blighted with deep potholes, huge cracks and craters – leaving motorists struggling with dangerous driving conditions and large repair bills," he said.

"That's why I decided to re-allocate this money to road maintenance budgets. I know our councils will be able to get to work quickly to bring more roads up to scratch and improve journeys for every road user."

The additional funding was approved at a WMCA Board meeting on Friday, a decision that needs the green light from the Department for Transport.

According to the WMCA, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) - which is part of the WMCA - is leading the way in trialling innovative, longer-lasting road surface materials, through the award-winning Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads (CEDR).

As part of the mission to create smoother, longer-lasting, and lower carbon roads, several councils within the WMCA area are preparing to use their funding to test these new materials.

The six councils were initially allocated £24 million CRSTS money for road maintenance this year.

Since then, Parker has secured an extra £20m - doubling the road maintenance budgets for the six councils.

Birmingham City Council's road repairs are funded through a separate private finance initiative process.

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