City MP Stephen Morgan marked National Pothole Day by welcoming the Government’s plans for safer roads.

This comes in the form up to £2.7 million to boost to repair roads and fix potholes in Portsmouth, as part of a record national £1.6 billion investment to repair road networks in England.

The landmark investment – an increase of nearly 50% on local road maintenance funding from last year – goes well beyond the Government’s manifesto pledge and is enough to fix the equivalent of over seven million extra potholes nationally in 2025/26.

Across England, local highways authorities will receive a 40% uplift in funding on average as the Government looks to rebuild Britain as part of its Plan for Change. Fixing our roads and filling potholes not only makes roads safer, but they also improve journey times and save drivers money from avoidable repairs.

It comes as figures from the RAC show drivers in Portsmouth the cost of pothole damage to vehicles is around £500 on average a year, with more severe repairs costing considerably more. According to the AA, fixing potholes is a priority for 96 per cent of drivers.

Any member of the public can report potholes  through a dedicated Gov.uk page