Boost for Melksham’s roads as Wiltshire receives further £3 million pothole fund

WILTSHIRE Council has received a further £3million  from the government in pothole repair funds, meaning local roads should see a significant improvement. 

The funding comes as part of a national government investment into dealing with potholes across the country. Councils across England have been allocated shares of the £168million Pothole Repair Fund, with Wiltshire receiving £3,063,471 in addition to £3million given earlier in the year.

The Department of Transport has estimated that 57,000 potholes will be fixed in Wiltshire, with all repair works to be completed by the end of March 2015. Councils will be required to publish both monthly and quarterly updates so that local residents can see how many potholes have been repaired and how many miles have been resurfaced in their area.

Potholes around Melksham have been described by resident Dan Winters as “a terrible state” that “seems worst than most places.” Another resident, Bob Denton added, “The state of the roads has got worse and worse. I dread to think how much extra wear and tear is on my car because of the poor quality of the roads.”

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

Wiltshire Council had over 2,600 carriageway defects reported to them in the first two months of 2014, 700 more than last year. This was mainly due to damage caused by the wet winter, where floodwater aggravated many potholes on Wiltshire’s roads and also opened up new ones.

Information on potholes that need filling in can come from council area teams around Wiltshire or from members of the public via the MyWiltshire app, social media, email or phone calls to the council on 0300 456 0105.