ROAD repairs across the county have accelerated with the help of millions of extra funding.

Devon County Council (DCC) have invested £10 million of extra funding into its road budget.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said the county council’s investment had enabled ‘a significant scaling-up’ to tackle repairs on the county’s road network.

He praised the efforts being made by highways teams as delivery had been ‘gathering pace’ over the summer.

‘The extra money we added to the roads budget is enabling us to go further and faster’ Cllr Hughes said.

‘In the past four months the patching repairs that have been undertaken are already the equivalent of around 80 per-cent of the patching achieved for the whole of the last financial year - that highlights the difference this additional funding is making.

‘However, we still need more funding from central Government to have a bigger impact on the condition of our 8,000-mile road network which is vital to our local economy.

‘We currently have a highway maintenance backlog of £200 million in Devon which is increasing by £15 million per year, and the national backlog is at a record high of £16.3 billion’ he added.

Since April, more than 18,000 square metres of road have been patched in more than 350 locations across the county.

These repairs have targeted sections of road which are deteriorating, patching extensive areas before potholes or safety defects form.

Patching schemes which have been completed include: Old Totnes Road in Ashburton, Shutterton Lane in Dawlish, Birch Road in Newton Abbot and many others.