Pothole repairs get £50m but more is needed

NEWCASTLE City Council has unveiled new plans to spend £50 million in a bid to try and curb the city's rampant pothole problem.

- By JAMES ROBINSON

Newcastle City Council staff repair a pothole in the city

It comes after estimates this summer that the total cost of repairing Newcastle's highways network is £250 million.

Council leader Karen Kilgour admitted that the new cash would not be enough on its own, but that it would be used to tackle the most urgent repairs first.

She also said she would continue to lobby the government for further cash.

Council officers have been tasked with drawing up plans to invest the £50 million into the highways network. An initial £1 million has already been allocated to some of the worst-affected roads in Newcastle, including:

A193 Shields Road - carriageway resurfacing; A186 Station Road - carriageway resurfacing; C110 Tyne View - carriageway resurfacing; Regent Farm Road - carriageway resurfacing; Dremsheugh Place - Footpath scheme; A595 Scotswood Road - carriageway resurfacing