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Extra funding expected to deal with potholes

Monday, 22 June 2026 at 08:07

By Chris Young, Local Democracy Reporter

The Bradford District is likely to get an extra £3 million to help fill the District’s potholes in the coming year.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority are proposing to allocate over £15m in funding for highway maintenance works at a meeting next Thursday.

The money, which tops up existing funding from central government, is expected to pay for more than 20 kilometres of renewed highways and around 37,000 square metres of carriageway patching to fill potholes.

The extra funding will take the five-year road improvement scheme’s spend in West Yorkshire to more than £300m between 2022 and 2027.

WYCA says the work will also form part of the West Yorkshire Vision Zero initiative to eliminate all road deaths and serious injuries across the region by 2040.

It will be the first meeting of the Authority since May’s elections, and Bradford Council’s new leader Councillor Stephen Place (Reform, Royds) will be one of the new members of the Authority.

If the funding is approved, Bradford Council will be awarded £3,192 455.

Calderdale Council will get £1,868,754, Kirklees Council £3,099,017, Leeds City Council – £4,889,906 and Wakefield Council – £2,522,818.

The report to members says:

“Poor highway conditions across the road network can significantly affect the quality of journeys for all users, lead to congestion and delays, and impact on the cost of motoring for private car users and freight.

“A good quality highway network is also vital in improving the reliability of the Weaver Network as congestion affects punctuality and reliability of buses, which remains a leading cause of bus customer dissatisfaction.

“A list of a further 251 highways maintenance interventions has been developed by the partner councils for inclusion in the programme for delivery in 2026/27 which will utilise the additional funding provided by Department for Transport. This funding will realise further highway renewal and carriageway patching work (i.e. pothole fixing).

“Many of the interventions in the wider programme are located within areas where communities experience high levels of deprivation and will therefore support reductions in the cost of motoring for residents. Interventions will also be undertaken on high frequency bus routes that link these communities to schools, employment and other local services, and should therefore support more reliable bus services.”

It says that for every £1 invested in this work, West Yorkshire will see £2.50 of benefits.

This is down to improved journey times for road users due to better maintained roads and reduced delay at emergency roadworks, reductions in vehicle operating costs, improved safety due to better road surfaces and less frequent roadworks and improved health from encouraging active travel.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said:

“We know road conditions are a big issue for people in the region.

“We are committed to working with our partners to create a better-connected West Yorkshire for the people we serve.”
 

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