THE MP for Central Devon has welcomed a £7-million repair programme for roads damaged during the wettest winter on record. The county council programme of work is underway on almost 250 repair schemes, restoring nearly 40 miles of roads across the county. Roads in the area that will receive repairs are the A3079 Fowley Cross road, the A3124 Two Post Cross Road at Whiddon Down, the A3072 Greenhill Cross Road at Sampford Courtenay, the A386 Shortacombe, Bridestowe Road, Southcombe Street in Chagford, and Fore Street and High Street in North Tawton. Devon received £7-million of Severe Weather Recovery funding to help with much needed road repairs. This was a share of £183.5-million made available by the Department for Transport in response to the impact of the severe winter weather. Since the grant allocation was announced earlier this year, Devon's highways teams have been inspecting the areas with most potholes and discussing local need with its neighbourhood teams in order to draw up the programme. The work includes surfacing and patching work, targeting mostly A and B roads but also with a number of schemes on C roads and minor roads. More than 39,000 potholes have been filled so far in 2014. Central Devon MP Mel Stride said: 'I'm delighted Devon has received a substantial portion of the Government's new pothole repair fund. Although our major roads are in a good state, many of our more rural roads are not and even small potholes can do major damage to vehicles and pose a safety threat to the driver and pedestrians if a vehicle hits one and veers off the road. The extra money will go some way to improving matters.' Devon's 8,000 mile road network, which is the biggest highway network of any local authority in the country, needs around £64-million of investment a year to maintain its current condition. The county council is also still dealing with the legacy of the remaining repairs from the £18-million of damage caused by the storms of 2012/13, which are being funded from capital allocations over the next few years.