A plea has been issued for chancellor Jeremy Hunt to use the budget to make money available so more of Norfolk's pothole-pocked roads can be fixed.

The chancellor has been urged to provide authorities like Norfolk County Council with extra funding to help tackle maintenance backlogs on roads drivers rely on.

County Hall bosses fear the grants the government gives for maintenance will not have kept pace with inflation - and that could make it even more difficult for the authority to tackle the £57.4m backlog of repairs and maintenance needed.

That figure is how much it would cost the council to get roads and bridges up to the standards they should be in.

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And the council hopes Mr Hunt will, in Wednesday's budget, help with extra funding.

Eastern Daily Press: Chancellor Jeremy HuntChancellor Jeremy Hunt (Image: NSFT)

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council said: "Construction industry inflation indices are heavily based on energy and oil-derived products such as asphalt, bitumen, and concrete.

"They have been significantly impacted by international events including the Ukraine / Russian war."

The council, which encourages people to report pothole problems, did not provide figures for how many potholes it fixed last year or so far this year.

But the spokesman said: "The council’s purchasing power is being diminished, while the indications are that the Department for Transport capital grants for maintenance this year will not include an allowance for inflation.

Eastern Daily Press: Council leaders are hoping for more cash to tackle potholesCouncil leaders are hoping for more cash to tackle potholes (Image: Archant © 2004)

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"However, we are hopeful funding will be announced as part of the budget and any funding over and above our assumptions will enable more proactive highway maintenance work to be delivered across Norfolk."

The council's budget for patching and potholes increased from £7.5m in 2022/23 to £8.2m in 2023/24.

Research by the Local Government Association found government funding for maintaining England’s motorways and major A roads was 31 times higher per mile than for repairing local roads last year.