£3.2m boost for environmental improvement schemes and pothole repairs
Written by John Williamson on 11/02/2022
Schemes designed to improve the environment on Cumbria’s highways and in parks and open spaces have been given a cash boost, along with funding earmarked for pothole repairs.
At a meeting of Cumbria County Council’s Full Council yesterday (Thursday 10 February), Members approved the additional £3.2m funding as part of the County Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan. County Councillors were also unanimous in their decision to allocate an additional £1.2m of the budget specifically for environmental enhancements and £1.2m for potholes. The remainder will provide funding for footpath maintenance, repairs and small scale enhancements, along with additional workforce capacity to deliver the improvements.
The money will be reserved for a range of schemes in all corners of the county to be used by the end of March 2023, with £400,000 allocated to each of Cumbria’s six Local Committees to be divided equally between environmental improvement schemes and pothole repairs.
This is the second consecutive year that Local Committees will be asked to work with district, town and parish councils to make full use of extra funding for Environment Fund schemes, drawing up a list of local projects and identifying match funding where possible.
The Environment Fund can be used for:
- Verge Maintenance and Biodiversity Improvements
- Tree Maintenance and Replacement
- Footpath Improvements
Cllr Peter Thornton, Cumbria County Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to approve funding for the second year in a row for vital environmental improvements in our communities as well as allocate money to pothole repairs. The council is really focused on making our communities safer and greener, and these schemes will help with that. We also know the frustration that potholes cause and this extra cash boost which was unanimously agreed by Members will make a real difference to the number of repairs we can fix.
“We’ve seen over the last year what a difference the Environment Fund has had in each of our six districts and we will continue to work with our communities and councils at a local level to draw up a list of environmental improvement schemes to make the best possible use of this funding.”
