A PROSPECTIVE MP has launched a campaign to ensure West Devon roads are repaired following the news that Devon County Council will receive an additional £208,657,000 from the Government to help fix the county’s roads over the next ten years,

Rebecca Smith, the Conservative parliamentary candidate standing in South West Devon, is keen to hear which roads drivers think this money should be spent on.

With this end in view, she has launched a survey where you can nominate the pothole you think should be on the list for this additional funding. Rebecca is also keen to hear which roads you think should be resurfaced and has set up a website on which potholes can be nominated at: https://www.rebecca-smith.org.uk/campaigns/nominate-pothole.

Rebecca promises to let the county council know the roads residents need prioritising to ensure that South West Devon gets its fair share of funds.

Rebecca said: “Thanks to the cancellation of the HS2 Phase 2 railway project in the north of England, £8.3 billion has been released to spend on roads like ours instead.

“It is great news for South West Devon that the Government has allocated millions of pounds to our local council to fix our local roads. However, to ensure the voice of residents is heard, I am looking for everyone’s views on which roads need repairing. I regularly get emails about potholes and I am keen to ensure local roads in areas like Yelverton, Burrator and Buckland Monachorum in South West Devon see their fair share of this funding. Please share your views by completing my survey and I will ensure council leaders hear your voice and fight for better roads in South West Devon.”

The South West Devon constituency will newly include the Yelverton area after boundary changes, taking effect at the next general election. Current MP, Sir Gary Streeter is retiring at the next general election after being SW Devon MP for 32 years.

Meanwhile, Tavistock’s so-called ‘Mr Pothole’ David Anscombe has been gathering extensive evidence of potholes in Tavistock and a petition calling on county highways to take effective action. The names will be added to a Parliamentary Petition organised by Sir Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon).

David said: “There has been some patching of potholes, but it’s ineffective and the holes just break up again. No one seems to police the repair work and I think money is being wasted because the repairs simply have to be done again.”

Sir Geoffrey, writing to Mr Newcombe in response to his request for backing for his campaign, said the Government is asking all local authorities to publish a summary of the additional resurfacing work they will deliver with the new funding. He said: “To ensure transparency, the Government is asking all authorities to publish a summary of the additional resurfacing work they will deliver with the new funding over the next two years on their websites by the middle of March.

“Thereafter, they will be required to publish quarterly reports, with the first by the end of June 2024, summarising the additional work they have done and listing the roads that they have resurfaced. Later in 2024/25, they will be asked to provide a long-term plan for their use of the full 11-year funding and the transformation it will deliver. Signatures are being counted, before being submitted the Parliament Petitions Office.” He thanked David in the letter and encouraged him to keep reporting to him, adding: “You should see work taking place to fix your local roads. I’d be grateful if you would continue to report progress.”