Telford and Wrekin to receive £36 million cash boost to fix and improve local roads
Telford and Wrekin is set to receive a cash injection of £36.1 million to improve the borough's roads.
As part of a record £7.3 billion Government funding package for local authorities announced on Friday, Telford & Wrekin Council has been allocated £26.3m in baseline funding and a further incentive-based £9.8m.
A larger proportion of funding - more than £500 million each year - will now only be unlocked by councils that publish pothole data on their website, a move the Government says will help ensure local authorities remain accountable. The Government had already introduced incentive funding, but the latest announcement more than triples the share of the £7.3bn that will be tied to transparency from 8 per cent to 30 per cent - worth more than £500m in total.
Telford & Wrekin Council will receive £26.3m in standard funding and up to a further £9.8m in incentive allocations over the duration of the current Parliament. The money will be used to repair potholes, prevent new ones from forming, and deliver immediate improvements where needed.
Telford MP Shaun Davies has welcomed the announcement, saying: "Potholes are a scourge, not just on the tens of thousands of drivers in Telford, but on our cyclists and everyone who uses our roads.
"The Government has already shown its commitment to fixing our roads and investing in our transport system, and this record funding increase takes that to another level.
"I'm also pleased to see that councils will be rewarded for good behaviour - last year, Telford & Wrekin Council filled in 60 per cent more potholes than residents reported, so I know Telford will benefit from such a fair system."
The Government has pledged to fill seven million potholes over the course of 2026. The new funding comes on top of the almost £1.6 billion already invested in road maintenance this year.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander MP said: "We’re delivering the biggest-ever investment in road maintenance to fix Britain’s broken roads. We’re putting our money where our mouth is, giving councils the long-term investment they need to plan properly and get things right first time, saving you money on costly repairs and making a visible difference in our communities.
"This isn’t patchwork politics, we are starting the hard work of fixing Britain’s roads for good."
