Lincolnshire County Council 'incredibly disappointed' as government rejects roads funding plea

The government has rejected calls from Lincolnshire County Council to reinstate £12million that was cut from its roads maintenance budget.

The authority has been lobbying ministers to restore the shortfall but has now had confirmation that its budget for 2022/23 remains £12m less than in 2019/20.

Councillors say they now face a decision about whether to try to find the money from other sources – or leave 72,000 potholes unfilled.

Cllr Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: "Government’s decision to not fill our highways maintenance funding gap is incredibly disappointing, especially in spite of several assurances we received from Westminster.

"Instead, we now face a £36m-plus funding shortfall for our roads until 2025. We now face the decision of continuing to fund the gap from reserves and council tax or leave 72,000 potholes unfilled and 111 miles of crumbling road un-repaired over the next three years.

"The maintenance funding we’re receiving simply isn’t enough and we can’t keep using reserves to fill the gap. At some point, something has got to give."

The council is warning the decision could result in a big rise in unplanned roadworks and reduce the safety and resilience of the county's roads because of issues such as potholes.

It says it will continue its fight to get fairer funding for the roads of the East Midlands and Lincolnshire.