Nottingham gets ‘raw deal’ from Government over pothole funding
Major cities including Nottingham and Leicester are getting a “raw deal” when it comes to the Government handing out money to repair potholes, a city council has said.
Nottingham City Council says new figures show £1.86 per head is allocated for Nottingham compared to £13.82 per head in rural Rutland.
It says the statistics from the Government’s Pothole Action Fund show how Nottingham will receive £605,000 to repair potholes between 2016 and 2021 for a population of 325,300 while nearby Rutland with a population of 38,600 receives £539,000.
This means that Rutland is funded to the tune of £13.82 per head, while Nottingham gets £1.86 per head – one of the lowest figures in the country.
It follows a change in the way Government allocates funding for potholes – basing it on the length of roads in the area instead of the condition of roads determined by usage, the council said.
The news comes as the Local Government Association urges the Government to re-balance the way funding is handed out, after it revealed the Government spends £1.1m per mile on the main road network it controls compared to £21,000 per mile for roads maintained by local councils.
Nottingham City Council deputy leader, Cllr Graham Chapman, said: “Once again, the Government is lavishing affluent rural areas that don’t need it as much with funding, while leaving cities like Nottingham struggling.
“It is manifestly unfair on Nottingham and doesn’t make any sense when a city of Nottingham’s size attracts significantly more traffic than rural Rutland.”
