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Additional £4.4 million for road repairs in Devon

Devon County Council has welcomed the government’s announcement of an additional £4.4 million for pothole and storm damage repairs to the county’s roads. 

The funding for Devon is a share of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) £100 million nationwide programme for much needed repairs following the severe winter weather. 

This latest grant is on top of £2.5 million pledged to reinstate the A379 at Slapton, which was partially washed away by Storm Emma, and the additional £2 million for Devon from the Pothole Action Fund for this year.

In setting its budget for the coming financial year, Devon County Council also announced last month that it was putting an extra £6.5 million into road repairs and drainage in 2018/19.

The additional winter damage funding is expected to be allotted in a similar way, to be spent on pothole repairs, patching, surfacing and drainage improvements in order to improve the resilience of Devon’s highways.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “We’ve already seen some of the devastating effects the severe weather has had this winter, with Storm Emma washing away part of the A379 at Slapton. The freezing temperatures and snow has also taken its toll on our entire 8,000 mile road network, and we're still assessing the full extent of the damage. This funding is excellent news and will certainly help cover some of the costs we will be facing."

Devon’s needs around £55 million of capital investment every year to maintain its roads in their current condition. However, only around £23 million is available from its £44 million capital settlement from government to maintain carriageways – as the funding also has to pay for maintenance of footways, street lighting, traffic signals, bridges, drainage systems, safety barriers and public rights of way, among other work.

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