TRANSPORT minister Patrick McLoughlin was urged to 'consider very seriously' Devon County Council's bid for a share of the Government's new £168-million fund for pothole repairs by one of the county's MPs during Transport Questions in the House of Commons on May 8. The fund, announced in the 2014 Budget, is enough to repair more than three million potholes across Britain and comes on top of £10-billion already being given to councils in England for local roads maintenance between 2010 and 2021. Local authorities that get funding will have to sign a pothole pledge setting out clearly how many potholes they will fix by March 2015 so that local communities can have confidence that action will be taken. Central Devon MP Mel Stride, who urged the county council to bid for the funding last month, championed the bid, praising the council's approach to tackling the problem. He said: 'Through its dedicated phone line and online reporting system, DCC has a very effective way for residents to report potholes and act swiftly to repair them. 'This, coupled with the importance of Devon's road network to businesses and families across the county, makes the county an excellent candidate to receive government funding.'