• Last November, the Conservative Government announced an extra £8.3 billion to improve local roads across England, enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of road, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.
• Councils have already received £150 million, with another £150 million to follow this year. 102 of the 119 authorities that received funding have responded to the Government’s request to set out their plans, and Simon Fell MP has welcomed the plans set to bring road improvements in Barrow and Furness.
• The Conservative Government is on the side of drivers and is sticking with the plan to deliver the biggest ever funding increase for local road improvements.

Simon Fell MP has welcomed that Westmorland and Furness has responded to the Government’s request to set out their plans for £2.347 million to be used to repair and resurface roads in Barrow and Furness over the next two years as part of £156.777 million allocated to Barrow and Furness as part of a long-term, 11-year plan to improve local roads.

A nationwide programme of pothole repairs and road resurfacing projects, made possible by the first tranche of £8.3 billion in reallocated HS2 funding, has been revealed–with the first set of roads already having been resurfaced to make journeys by road safer, faster, and smoother.

Councils have already been paid £150 million to get on with the work and deliver improvements, with another £150 million following in this financial year.

As a condition of this funding, and to make sure money is being spent on pothole repairs, local authorities are required have published two-year plans detailing exactly which local roads will benefit. The plans for Westmorland and Furness Council can be found at this link now.

Whilst Labour are waging a war on motorists with blanket 20mph limits and a ban on road building in Wales and the ULEZ expansion in London to tax the poorest drivers off the road, the Conservative Government is on the side of drivers, sticking to the plan to ensure faster, more reliable, and more comfortable journeys across Barrow and Furness.

Commenting, Mr. Fell said:

“I know from speaking to people across Barrow and Furness how frustrating potholes and poor-quality roads can be. A quarter of the casework which comes to my office is about potholes and road safety due to the poor condition of local roads.

“Travelling around Furness it’s so good to see so much resurfacing work going on – whether in Dalton, Ulverston, Barrow or beyond. This long-term funding gives the Council what it needs to plan and improve our roads for the future.

“I know just how important this issue is to my constituents which is why I am delighted the Conservative Government is sticking to the plan to improve journeys for drivers across the country, funding road and pothole repairs, and committing £156.777 million over the next ten years to improve roads across Westmorland and Furness.

“By sticking to the plan to improve roads and fix potholes across the country, the Conservative Government is making journeys by car and bike faster, more reliable, and more comfortable.”

Commenting, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

“We’re on the side of drivers, which is why this Government is getting on with delivering our plan to invest an additional £8.3 billion in the biggest ever funding increase for local road improvements, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.

“Alongside this unprecedented funding, which is already being used to improve local roads, we’re making sure local people can hold their local authority to account and see for themselves how the investment will be spent to improve local roads for years to come.”