Millions of pounds are to be funnelled into fixing potholes in County Durham. 

Durham County Council has been awarded £2.64 million by the Department for Transport for the repair and prevention of potholes across the county.

This comes a year after a report found that the backlog of repairs on pothole-plagued local roads in County Durham and Darlington has soared due to a lack of long-term investment.

In 2022, The Northern Echo investigated the plague of potholes across County Durham. According to online app fillthathole.org.uk, which is run by Cycling UK, Durham County Council has had 758 reports of hazards since March 2021, but only has nine active potholes to fix that residents have raised with the local authority.

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The Northern Echo: Potholes across County Durham are set to be repaired. Potholes across County Durham are set to be repaired. (Image: Durham County Council)

£200 million was allocated to fixing holes in Britain's road in the Budget in March. 

The money given to Durham County Council will help strengthen the council’s rolling programme of resurfacing and sealing road surfaces. This is in addition to the almost £13 million that has already been committed to improving the condition of the road network throughout 2023 and 2024.

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The council has now unveiled how it intends to invest the additional money over the coming year:

  • £1,638,400 will be spent on resurfacing 23,300 sqm of carriageway over nine schemes in various locations across the county.
  • £600,000 will be invested in 18,000 sqm of structural patching across the county.
  • £300,000 will be invested in six Micro Asphalt specialist surfacing schemes, covering 34,000 sqm.
  • £50,000 will be set aside for pothole repairs using a ‘road mender’ solution trial.
  • £50,000 will be invested in spray injection patching.

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Cllr John Shuttleworth, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for rural communities and highways, said: “This funding will be used for repairs and for pothole prevention schemes all over the county and is in addition to the £13 million we have already committed to improving our road network this year.

“We are committed to making sure that County Durham’s roads are as safe as possible for our residents and visitors and would like to thank the public for their patience whilst the work is carried out.”