More funding to tackle potholes

West Sussex County Council has already completed 11,000 pothole repairs to date this year and this funding boost is in addition to extra resources announced in May.

This was when two roving ‘seek and fill’ gangs and one dedicated to patching larger areas were added to the 15 teams already repairing holes.

Bob Lanzer, the county council’s cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “The extra £540,000 is great news and further proof of just how seriously we take the pothole problem in West Sussex and that we have listened to residents and how important they feel this issue is. West Sussex Highways, working with contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places, is working hard to tackle the problem and the total number of pothole enquiries we are receiving is already declining as we make progress in repairing the winter weather damage.

“Unfortunately, roads are not permanent structures, so they will never be totally pothole-free, but we’re winning this post-winter battle and the funding boost will be a big help.”

Jeremy Hunt, the council’s cabinet Member for finance, added: “With this extra £540,000, we will prioritise high-quality repairs to try to ensure we do not have to return to the same problems.

“It will support the extra work we are already doing and is a great example of the council listening and acting upon what our residents want. It is in addition to the extra resources, such as the roving ‘seek and fill’ teams, which are being funded from the £1,594,870 the county council received from the Department for Transport’s Pothole Action Fund for this financial year.”

In response to the dire state of our roads, earlier this year the Herald & Gazette series, along with its sister titles across Sussex, ran the Pothole Watch campaign.

Its aims were to openly engage with our readers in highlighting the worst potholes and to work with the county council to help address them, and during the campaign thousands of potholes across the county were repaires.

Anyone who would like to report a defect on roads or pavements can do so using the Love West Sussex smartphone app or via the website www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/reporta-problem-with-a-road-orpavement