Cumberland Council is to receive a share of a £1.2 billion pot from the government to fix and repair road across the area.

Cumberland will see an uplift of £1.9 million for both 23/24 and 24/25 and have had £130 million earmarked for roads to be paid out over the next decade.

This is part of a wider, national long-term plan of £8.3 billion, enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of road across the country over the next 11 years which the government say will mean that millions people will enjoy smoother, safer, and faster road journeys thanks to the resurfacing programme to improve local roads in the North.

Local highway authorities in the North West, including Westmorland and Furness will each receive a share of the £1.2 billion which they can use to identify what local roads are in most need of repair and deliver immediate improvements for communities and residents.

The funding for the project comes from the billions of pounds that the government said it has saved from scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2.

The decision to scrap HS2 was heavily criticised, not least by Cumberland Council, but money from the scrapped project is also set to improve train services between, Carlisle, Workington and Barrow.  

“Most people travel by road and potholes can cause misery for motorists, from expensive vehicle repairs to bumpy, slow, and dangerous journeys,” said transport secretary, Mark Harper.

“Our £1.2 billion boost to repair roads across the North West shows that we’re on the side of drivers.

“Today’s biggest ever funding uplift for local road improvements is a victory for all road users, who will enjoy smoother, faster and safer trips - as we use redirected HS2 funding to make the right long-term decisions for a brighter future.”

To increase transparency and ensure the funding leads to an increase in the number of roads being resurfaced, local authorities will be required to publish information on their websites on a regular basis explaining how they are spending the funding in their area.