A CASH injection of nearly £200-million to fix Devon’s potholed roads has been revealed by the Department for Transport, writes Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter.

Devon County Council will get £18.754-million to improve the roads in the region, roads minister Jesse Norman has announced, as part of a £420-million fund to tackle potholes nationwide.

The council has welcomed the funding from the Government and has said work has begun to make best use of the cash.

Cllr Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet member for highways management said: ‘I welcome this funding from the Department for Transport. We are currently looking at the terms and conditions of the fund to determine the best way to invest this money to achieve the maximum benefit for Devon.’

In 2016/17, 60,639 potholes across the 8,000 mile road network managed by Devon County Council were reported, a Freedom of Information Request to the council revealed.

Across the wider South West, an extra £71.9-million investment is being made, which includes £1-million in Plymouth, £646,000 in Torbay, and just over £10-million in Cornwall.

Roads minister Jesse Noman said: ‘Potholes are a huge problem for all road users, and too often we see issues occurring at the same place time after time.

‘That is why the Government is investing more in improving our roads than at any time before – £15-billion between 2015 and 2020 and a further £28.8-billion to 2025. Plus an immediate extra £420-million for potholes and local road maintenance just this year.

‘The South West will be getting an extra £71-million this winter to keep its roads in good condition to keep drivers and cyclists safe.’

However, concerns have already been raised that the funds pledged by government is nowhere near enough to fix all the potholes.

Rick Green, the Asphalt Industry Alliance chairman, said a local authority survey indicated that ‘more than £8-billion would be needed to carry out a one-time catch up to bring local roads in England up to scratch’.

And RAC chief engineer David Bizley said that while he welcomed the investment, a ‘long-term’ plan was needed to completely repair the country’s scarred road surfaces.

Devon County Council has set up a task group to look at the planned and reactive maintenance; potholes and drainage work carried out by Skanska and Devon County Council staff, after concerns about the quality of repairs by Skanska were raised by Cllr Gordon Hook.

But not all councillors agreed that the repair work had ‘reached a new low’, and Skanska has introduced its fire-breathing dragon to help slay potholes.

The dragon patcher – so called because it uses flames to dry and heat the road surface – is used by the county council’s highways contractor Skanska to tackle potholes.

Skanska say the new equipment is five times faster than a traditional patching gang and can be controlled by one operator, and as well as simply filling potholes, it can also be used to treat sections of road with cracks or minor deterioration to prevent potholes forming in future.