ALMOST 100,000 potholes are to be filled in across Cumbria as part of the biggest investment in roads since the 1970s.

The government has announced it will be allocating £4.85m to deal with 91,000 road repairs as part of a national fund which announced this morning.

“An extra nearly five million pounds to spend on potholes and highways maintenance is going to help make a huge difference right across the county," said Councillor Keith Little, cabinet member for highways and transport.

"People are going to see a lot more activity on the roads in the forthcoming months – with highways repairs teams out in force doing those jobs that perhaps have been niggling communities for some time now."

The money comes in addition to the £3m announced in March which will make up the county’s ‘weather repair fund’.

“Potholes are the bane of all our lives and the funding announced today is an important step in ridding our roads of this menace,” said Patrick McLoughlin, transport secretary, when the funding was announced.

“But it is only one part of a massive programme of investment to get our country up to speed as part of this government’s long term economic plan.

“By building, repairing and renewing our key infrastructure we will ensure the future growth and prosperity of this county.”

As part of the same initiative Lancashire County Council has been told it will receive £4.9m - a higher amount than Cumbria after it demonstrated it had already done ‘exemplary work’ dealing with the problem - to combat around 92,000 potholes.

North Yorkshire has been given almost £5.2m to deal with 97,000 potholes.

All repair works must be completed by the end of March, 2015, and money can be spent repairing potholes or ensuring they do not appear in the first place.

Councils will also have to publish quarterly updates so that residents can see how many potholes or miles of resurfacing has been undertaken in their area.

“Investing in our roads is a key part of our long term economic plan," said prime minister, David Cameron.

"A modern economy needs modern infrastructure, so businesses can create more jobs, commuters can get to work, and families can get on with their lives.
 

“We have already made an historic investment in Britain’s road network – the biggest since the 1970s – including £20 million set aside for road maintenance in Cumbria in this year alone.
 

“And today we are announcing over £4.8 million to help the area to rid its roads of the pain of potholes.
 

“Potholes damage cars, motorbikes and cycles and cost hardworking people money for repairs.

"Helping fill in potholes is helping hardworking families and we need to do more of it."