£121m announced for Essex road maintenance over the next 10 years

Government announced funding to help Local Authorities across England deliver more repairs.

Essex is to receive £121 million of funding for road repairs and resurfacing between now and 2034, the Government has confirmed.

The funding, which has been reallocated to Local Authorities across England from the HS2 scheme, will ensure the road network across Essex will receive repairs and help towards maintaining the condition of roads across the county.

Essex County Council already receives funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) each year, including the additional funding the Chancellor announced in March in the Budget for pothole repairs, which is available this financial year and next. The new funding announced will ensure there is financial support for road repairs until 2034. 

It will allow Essex Highways to deliver repairs and resurfacing for priority routes and defects, remaining in line with the current strategy to target repairing the most unsafe issues.

This follows the additional investment Essex County Council allocated to highways in this year’s budget of £17.4 million. This is currently being spent providing additional works across the county that might not have otherwise taken place.

Councillor Tom Cunningham, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport, said: "By allocating £121 million to Essex, the Government has recognised that well maintained and repaired roads are a priority for Essex residents the width and breadth of this county. I want each person that calls Essex their home to feel pride in the place they live, and supporting the transport network by delivering repairs will help do just that.

"Essex County Council made an important commitment to delivering more road maintenance works this year by allocating additional financial support for highways, and I'm pleased to see that extra repairs are being delivered up and down the county thanks to that support. The Government funding will help us continue with the repairs Essex Highways works hard to deliver."

The Department for Transport published details of the funding allocation alongside the announcement, which totals £8 billion of funding for road repairs across England. Essex’s allocation includes:

• £30.6 million existing annual allocation in 2023/24 (highways maintenance block funding, plus Pothole Fund)
• £7.6 million of additional funding over the next 2 years
• £121 million of funding between 2023 and 2034

Further information can be found on the DfT website.