Northumberland will receive an additional £5.5 million over the next two years to improve the county's roads.

The money will be part of Northumberland's share of the Prime Minister's decision to scrap the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 high-speed rail line. This is in addition to the announcement of the funding needed to dual the A1 from Morpeth to Ellingham.

The Government has confirmed an extra £8.3bn funding will go to England's local councils over the next 11 years for road maintenance, with the area including the North East and Northumberland securing £3.3bn.

The Department for Transport said local authorities in England would get an extra £150m for road repairs this year, and the same amount for 2024 and 2025. The rest of the funding will be allocated over the next decade.

In Northumberland, an extra £2.768m will be coming to the county each year for the next two years, with a total uplift of over £184M over the next ten years - and Council Leader Glen Sanderson pledged it would be put to good use. He said:

“For years our roads took low priority when Labour were in charge but we have reversed that. There is still much to do but it is a key priority for us and we will continue to spend in order to improve our roads.

“This is a clear example of a Conservative government working with Northumberland Conservatives at County Hall to deliver on the priorities of people in our area. With a network covering over 3,100 miles it is an immense challenge to stay on top of it, but every extra pound we can plough into additional maintenance works will benefit road users up and down the county."

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Improving Roads and Highways, added:

“The Council's main funding for highway maintenance comes from Department for Transport and is around £21m per year. In addition to this the Council has put in a further £17.5m in its own capital to improve road maintenance over the last three years.

“We are continually investing in our services to improve highway maintenance - whether for helping reporting, improving our management systems or improving plant and materials for repair.

“We’re now looking to plan in detail how best to use this extra money to get the best outcomes for residents across the county.”