Hastings and Rye MP welcomes news of additional funding for local roads resurfacing

The Government are providing £8.3 billion of extra roads resurfacing funding for English local highway authorities between 2023/24 to 2033/34. This money will, over time, transform the condition of local roads, allowing all road users smoother, faster, and safer trips - paid for with savings delivered by the Prime Minister’s decision to cancel HS2 Phase 2.

All HS2 savings that would have been spent in the North or the Midlands will still be spent there, with savings from a revised approach to delivering Euston station shared across the rest of the country.

This funding is in addition to local transport funding from the last Spending Review and in addition to what local authorities were expecting in the future. This new money is additional to the existing Highways Maintenance Block and Pothole Fund and will bring in a minimum of an extra £52 million over the next 10 years to be spent on East Sussex roads – an increase of around two-thirds in Government support for our local roads.

The £1.674 million in additional funding for East Sussex for 2023/24 is made possible by reallocated HS2 funding. This is in addition to the £2.36 million funding increase for 2023/24 announced at Spring Budget 2023. This brings the total Government funding for roads resurfacing for East Sussex for 2023/24 to £17.31 million.

Sally-Ann Hart MP commented:“After successfully campaigning for more roads resurfacing funding for East Sussex in the Spring Budget last year, I am pleased with this additional £1.674 million in funding.

“The roads in Hastings & Rye are simply not good enough and I hope much of the funding will be used to address our roads that are worst affected by potholes.

“Whilst the County Council have made progress in recent years, more needs to be done as it unacceptable that road users must deal with some roads that wouldn’t look out of place in a developing country.”