Many residents of Northampton North will already be aware of my campaign to secure funds to improve our roads and footpaths and remove potholes. I know from talking to Northampton residents that these are one of the biggest frustrations for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
When I go knocking on doors in town, meeting residents of Northampton North, people often raise the state of the roads with me. That’s why I raised the state of the roads with the Government until action was taken. First the Government set aside £200 million to reduce potholes across counties working hard to improve their roads; this resulted in £3.32 million coming to our area- as a direct result of my campaign. That was in 2014, and George Osborne told the House of Commons it was thanks to my campaign.
Then, last November, the Chancellor George Osborne announced the further creation of a £250 million “Permanent Pothole Fund” and credited my ‘incessant lobbying’ for getting the Government to tackle this issue.
I am very pleased to report that this funding is now being allocated across the whole country, with over 100 councils in England getting a share of the £50 million of funding this year – enough to fill nearly 1 million potholes across the UK. The sums for each area are calculated on the number of miles of roads in each county. Northamptonshire will be receiving £711,000 pounds – enough to fill over 13,000 potholes locally! Further funding across the East Midlands will fill over 105,000 potholes in the region.
Families and businesses in Northampton rely on our roads to get around. Unfortunately our roads have suffered decades of underinvestment, but that is being made good now. I am pleased that we are now turning this situation around, as it is an issue I have been campaigning on for a long time.
I am glad that the Government is investing both nationally and locally to improve the standard of our local roads. It shows that we are delivering on our commitment to invest in infrastructure to attract businesses and secure Britain’s future.
I look forward to seeing potholes around Northampton being filled in over the coming months – and I know other Northampton residents will be glad to see this investment.