UK potholes
The funding will be used by the local authorities to address the pothole issues. Credit: © Crown copyright.

The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has allocated £500m to local authorities for highways maintenance.

The funding will be used by local authorities to address pothole issues, as well as other road maintenance concerns across the country.

DfT estimates the funding to be sufficient to fix ten million potholes across the country.

The funding is the second of five equal instalments from the £2.5bn Potholes Fund, under which local authorities in England will receive £500m annually between 2020/21 and 2024/25.

UK Transport Minister Baroness Vere said: “We know potholes are more than just a nuisance; they can be dangerous to drivers and cyclists alike, and cause damage to thousands of vehicles every year.

“The funding allocated today will help councils ensure roads in their area are kept up to standard, and that the potholes that blight road users can be dealt with promptly.”

Since 2018, DfT has been investing heavily in pothole filling, including a £296m Pothole Action Fund, which ran from 2015/16 to 2020/21.

The UK Government, through its Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2), is investing £27bn in the roads programme, with a £10bn sum specifically for road maintenance, operations and renewals.