THE Autumn Budget allocated £420 million to tackle potholes and repair damaged roads.

Exactly how much each authority will receive has now been announced with Devon set to receive the most of any of the 171 local authorities in the country and the South West as a whole set to receive the most awarded to any region.

A total of £71.91 million will be allocated to the South West with Devon County Council receiving £18.75 million and an additional £1.03 million and £0.65 million will go to the unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay respectively.

Central Devon MP Mel Stride, who serves as Financial Secretary to the Treasury and worked closely with the Chancellor on the Budget, said: “For many years as both as a backbencher and a Government minister I have lobbied hard for greater funding to tackle the scourge of potholes.

“They are dangerous and cost drivers money through repairs and higher insurance premiums and breakdown cover.

“The backlog needing to be tackled was made significantly worse by the freezing weather we experienced this March and the Chancellor was right to make pothole repairs a priority in the Budget.

“As Devon has the largest road network of any authority in the country it is only right that it receives the most funding so our County Council will be able to fix far more potholes over the next year than it otherwise would have been able to.”

The £420 million of Government funding is on top of the £950 million already being provided to councils across the country this year for highways maintenance.