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The Government will now require councils to prove progress on potholes or face losing access to new cash. From mid-April, local authorities will start to receive their share of the Government’s record £1.6bn highway maintenance funding, including an extra £79m for the South East.
This includes Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC), West Sussex County Council and East Sussex County Council. But to get the full amount, all councils in England must now publish annual progress reports and prove public confidence in their work. Local authorities who fail to meet these strict conditions will see 25 per cent of their pothole funding, which is £19.
9m for the South East, withheld. BHCC has said it welcomes the government's approach on potholes. Counillor Jacob Taylor, deputy council leader, said: "We strongly welcome the additional funding from government in this area - following years of real-terms cuts to road infrastructure.
" Cllr Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, parking and public realm, said that the funding "couldn't be more timely and welcome". He added: "I can confirm we will be complying with the government's approach - ensuring funding is aligned with real delivery for residents and taxpayers. "We plan to bring our Highways Maintenance Programme and updated Highways Maintenance Policy to Cabinet next month.
"Brighton and Hove needs this extra funding to start fixing the shocking legacy of the last Tory government on potholes. With more, we will do more." Conservative Councillor Ivan Lyons for Westdene and Hove Park, left, with potholes in Hangleton previously (Image: The Argus) Earlier this month Brighton and Hove City Council said that tackling potholes is a "real priority" after cabbies said that they are harming their business .
The Transport Secretary has also unveiled £4.8bn funding for 2025/26 for National Highways to deliver critical road schemes and maintain motorways and major A-roads. Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, said: “After years of neglect, we’re unblocking the South East’s roads - fixing the plague of potholes, building vital roads and ensuring every penny is delivering results for the taxpayer.
“The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why they will have to show progress or risk losing 25 per cent of their £500m funding boost. “Our Plan for Change is reversing a decade of decline and mending our pothole-ridden roads which damage cars and make pedestrians and cyclists less safe.” READ MORE: Best places to live: All the shops and restaurants in Hove namechecked by The Times To ensure councils in the South East are taking action, they must now publish reports on their websites by 30 June 2025, detailing how much they are spending, how many potholes they have filled, what percentage of their roads are in what condition, and how they are minimising street works disruption.
They will also be required to show how they are spending more on long-term preventative maintenance programmes and that they have robust plans for the wetter winters the country is experiencing – making potholes worse. By the end of October, councils must also show they are ensuring communities have their say on what work they should be doing, and where. It comes as figures from the RAC show drivers encounter an average of six potholes per mile in England and Wales, and pothole damage to cars costs an average £600 to fix.
According to the AA, fixing potholes is a priority for 96 per cent of drivers. Pot holes in Southwick marked by local demonstrators (Image: Eddie Mitchell) Since entering office, the government has approved £290m for M3 Junction 9 plus £13m for the South East Aylesbury Link Road and £15m for the Fairglen Interchange in Essex. This is a total of over £328m for road schemes to get the South East moving.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “British people are bored of seeing their politicians aimlessly pointing at potholes with no real plan to fix them. That ends with us. “We’ve done our part and handed councils the cash and certainty they need - now it’s up to them to get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they’re delivering for their communities.
” Pot holes in Southwick marked by local demonstrators (Image: Eddie Mitchell) READ MORE: Cars to be banned from stopping on stretch of two main city centre roads To further protect motorists given continued cost-of-living pressures and potential fuel price volatility amid global uncertainty, the government has frozen fuel duty at current levels for another year, saving the average car driver £59. Responding to the Government’s announcement of an extra £500 million for councils’ road maintenance budgets and requirements to prove progress to release some of this funding, Cllr Adam Hug, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “The additional £500 million will help start to address the previously ever-growing backlog of local road repairs, which now stands at nearly £17 billion and could take more than a decade to fix. “Councils already spend more than they receive from central government on tackling potholes and repairing our roads.
“However, it’s in everyone’s interests to ensure that public money is well spent. This includes the Government playing its full part by using the Spending Review to ensure that councils receive sufficient, long-term funding certainty, so they can focus their efforts on much more cost-effective, preventative measures rather than reactively fixing potholes, which is more expensive.”.
