SOME 35,000 potholes in the south could be filled with the help of a one-off Government handout to local councils, it emerged yesterday.

In Wednesday’s Budget statement, Chancellor Alistair Darling said he was providing £100m to pay for “vital repairs” to local roads throughout the country, following the bad weather of the last few months which had taken a “damaging toll” on their condition.

Yesterday, the Department for Transport revealed that councils in the region would share £2.8m of the national pot. Hampshire County Council will receive £2.37m, Southampton City Council £152,000 and the Isle of Wight Council £273,000.

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According to a survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance, published yesterday, the average cost of filling a pothole is £78. It means the new funding could stretch to fill more than 35,000 potholes across the region.

The cash, which comes on top of the maintenance funding that local authorities are contributing from their own budgets, is specifically to fix up local roads, as opposed to motorways and trunk roads, which are the responsibility of the Highways Agency.

The payment will be ring-fenced and each local authority will be expected to publish a report on the work carried out, to ensure it has gone where it was intended, and so local people can make sure their local authority spent the money wisely.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said he was concerned that potholes or pitted roads, if left, could pose a growing safety threat to road users and would become more expensive to repair.

He said: “This substantial funding will allow local authorities to pay for the most urgent immediate repairs. But it’s crucial that we also look forward and so we will be encouraging local authorities to also focus on longer-term resurfacing and maintenance work to help avoid another sudden deterioration in road conditions in the future.”

Communities Secretary John Denham, Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, said: “The state of the roads in Southampton is a pressing problem.

“It was clear some roads weren’t up to scratch even before the damage done over winter.

“I’m pleased to see this new funding to help sort out the roads. Now the council has no excuses.”