Another £1m pledged to blitz potholes on Dudley's roads

More than 44,000 square metres of roads have been repaired so far this financial year (2021/22) with help from an extra £1million in the council’s budget at the start of the year.

The previous financial year (2020/21) saw just 9,957 square metres of repairs carried out.

To help bring the borough's roads up to scratch, highways bosses have pledged another £1milllion as part of the budget proposals which are expected to be approved by councillors in March.

That would bring the total budget for repairing the roads to £8.3million, the same as last financial year, compared to the £7.2m spent in 2020/21, £5.4m in 2019/20, £7.7m in 2018/19 and £7.3m in 2017/18.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, Dudley Council's cabinet member responsible for highways, said: "We are investing more in our roads and tackling more potholes and defects than ever before. The extra money we have invested has helped create an extra eight crews identifying and tackling road defects which has had a huge impact.

"People have told us this is important to them and we have acted on that information.

"We have to make sure we keep on top of the continuous battle with road defects and that means continued investment."

The announcement of extra funding to tackle potholes comes after Dudley's Liberal Democrats accused the council of funding pothole repairs by spending less on road resurfacing and calling for a "pothole promise from the council".

Ryan Priest - Lib Dem campaigner

Lib Dem spokesman for Cradley and Wollescote, Ryan Priest, said the party wanted to see "a record level of investment in resurfacing and in road repairs" and transparency around how money is being spent after branding the borough's roads "an embarrassment".

People can report potholes and other issues to the council by calling Dudley Council Plus on 03005552345 or via the council’s website dudley.gov.uk.