Shropshire gets £1 million cash boost to fill potholes

The cash will be given to the authority from the Government's £250 million Pothole Action Fund. Shropshire Council will receive £1.036 million of the initial £50 million pot, allowing it to fill more than 19,500 potholes.

But Telford & Wrekin Council has been given a much smaller sum – £176,000 – to deal with problems on roads in its area. The money will help repair 3,300 holes, although the authority has far fewer roads than its neighbour and each council's figure has been calculated based on the size of its road network.

Shropshire's is the second-biggest allocation in the region, marginally behind Staffordshire, and is designed to tackle problems across the county's 5,150 kilometres (3,200 miles) of roads. Telford manages 626 miles of highways.

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: "This additional money to fix potholes is welcome news and will contribute towards the ongoing work to improve the county's roads.

"All of the repairs will be permanent. Subject to discussions with the Department of Transport we could resurface a large patch of road and remove numerous potholes in one treatment – this would be a more effective and efficient treatment, and that would be our preferred approach."

Telford & Wrekin Council hit out over its allocation, however, with Councillor Shaun Davies calling its allocation "a drop in the ocean".

"We welcome this additional funding but unfortunately it falls far short of the amount that we need if we are to address the maintenance backlog that has built up as a result of ongoing underfunding by central government," he added.

"We have a process for repairing potholes which is funded by the council and it's our intention to use the additional £176,000 for preventative maintenance to stop potholes forming in the first place."