A £1.5million boost to fill in potholes across County Durham has been hailed as a “game changer”, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.
Durham County Council has pledged to invest the funding over the next three years to improve road conditions.
The programme will see £750,000 invested in 2026/27, £500,000 in 2027/28 and £250,000 in 2028/29.
Specialist preventative repair methods, including Mastic Asphalt Patching and Spray Injection Patching, will help extend the lifespan of road surfaces and reduce the need for reactive pothole repairs, the council said.
Councillor Tim McGuinness, cabinet member for rural, farming and transport, said: “This preventive approach, when paired with new repair methods and traditional road resurfacing works, will be a game changer for the county’s roads.”
The additional funding is on top of the council’s current £12.5 million programme to improve the region’s roads.
Around 30,000 square metres of road are expected to be treated over the three-year programme.
Earlier this year, the Reform-led authority said improving the condition of local roads is a priority after receiving an amber rating by the Government. The condition of roads and whether the authority followed best practice were rated amber by the government. The council’s spending on road repairs was rated green.
A new mapping tool by the Department for Transport rates 154 local highway authorities as red, amber, or green based on road conditions and their effectiveness in spending the Government’s road maintenance funding.
Cllr McGuinness added: “Our highways team does a lot of work to reduce the number of potholes across the county, and this additional investment will bolster these extensive efforts. Extra funding gives us the ability to prevent road defects before they develop and allows us to deliver targeted, preventative repairs.
“We’re already investing £12.5 million into traditional surfacing works and we have a wide range of treatment techniques. We will continue to carry out regular safety inspections of roads and do all we can to reduce potholes across the county.”
Bill Edgar
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
