Essex County Council agrees £2.4m funding for pothole repairs

Essex County Council has asked each of its 75 members to submit a top 20 list of the worst offending defects in their areas.

This equates to 1,500 potholes being repaired across the county – 40 of which will be in the Hedingham and Halstead areas.

County hall will spend a combined total of £2.4 million on the scheme and say the repairs will be completed by spring next year.

Joanne Beavis, who represents Halstead, and county council leader David Finch, who is the Hedingham ward member, will be consulting low level councils to establish the worst offending potholes in their areas.

Cllr Beavis said: "In terms of the 20 pot holes that I feel I would like to highlight in my division, I will be writing to

the town and parish Councils and indeed the non-parish part of my division to understand better from those at the grass-roots where the main concerns are.

"Since joining the county council I have made a special effort to map out the highways issues within my division working closely with the town and parish council to bring forward improvements.

"I am confident that improvements are being made to the highways and this latest opportunity from councillor Kevin Bentley will only add to that success.

Hundreds of potholes appeared across the county after the Beast from the East struck in March.

Cllr Bentley, Essex County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, added: “I want to make sure that the extra money we’re putting in to pothole repairs is used to maximum effect in each area.

“Not just what engineers think is the safety priority, but the ones that really frustrate people locally.

“That’s why I am asking all Essex County Councillors to consult quickly with other local councils and give us their list. We’ll fix them over the next few months with the extra resources we have allocated and, in some cases, with new types of machines, to eliminate the worst problems and help everyone use our roads more smoothly.”