ROADS across North Yorkshire could receive a boost of more than £6m in a bid to repair surfaces plagued with potholes.

North Yorkshire County Council’s Executive will be asked to approve an extra £3m for highway maintenance across the county to match funding received this year from the Government.

Following damage caused to North Yorkshire’s roads during the winter, the Department for Transport awarded the county council more than £3.2m for the repair and prevention of potholes, half of which was on top of the expected allocation.

At their meeting July 24, members of the executive will be asked to approve match funding of £3m, which would be provided through the county council’s reserves, to be spent on additional highways maintenance this year and next.

The proposal echoes a decision in 2015 when the authority contributed an additional £20m to highways maintenance over five years after receiving £24m from York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership from the Local Growth Fund.

If approved, the £3m funding will further bolster the programme of works being carried out across the county.

This is aimed at improving the overall condition of the network through a mixture of resurfacing, structural patching and surface dressing.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways, said: “The additional Government money was unexpected but very welcome.

"The proposal to match this funding shows the priority the county council puts on maintaining a safe, efficient road network for residents, businesses and visitors to the county.

“It also recognises the severity of the deterioration that has occurred on parts of the road network as a result of the severe winter and responds to the concerns we hear from members of the public.”

The additional work would supplement the council's annual surface dressing programme, which costs around £11m a year and this year treated 350 miles of road.

Some of the money would be spent this year on patching and other minor repairs to prepare roads for surface dressing next year and to maximise the benefit of that surface dressing. Site assessments would be carried out and a works programme drawn up.

As well as treating some severely damaged areas, there would be emphasis on preventative work.