Extra £1m to repair Dudley's potholes

An extra £1million will be spent on repairing potholes on roads throughout a Black Country borough in the wake of the recent harsh winter weather.

Freezing conditions in the run up to Christmas caused "unprecedented problems" with potholes on Dudley roads say council chiefs.

As a result the extra cash has now been allocated out of next year's budget to try and deal with the cost of the increase in repairs. There were 552 potholes reported in the borough in January.

Potholes have opened up where water repeatedly froze and expanded in cracks in the road, leaving holes which can damage vehicles.

Sandwell Council reported last month estimated its bill to be around £700,000 while Walsall planned to spend £400,000. A £1.85 million operation to repair nearly 600 potholes in Staffordshire is under way.

Wolverhampton City Council received funding of £191,800 from the Government's Emergency Winter Damage Fund in April 2010. And the authority provided an additional £45,000 to carry out repairs to more than 2,650 potholes.

Speaking at a meeting of Dudley Council's cabinet last night where the extra funding was announced deputy leader Councillor Les Jones said: "This extra investment is right and I think it will be welcomed by the public at large."