An extra £2 million could be spent on fixing Bracknell’s pothole-plagued roads next year – after warnings that they're worsening at an 'accelerating rate'.

Bracknell Forest councillor Guy Gillbe - responsible for roads – said he was ‘very proud’ of being able to put extra funding towards road maintenance as part of budget proposals. But council documents suggest that several large-scale road maintenance works could still be too expensive.

Increasing costs and ‘extreme’ weather conditions have contributed to worsening roads, according to the council. Budget documents say: “General carriageway condition is deteriorating at an accelerating rate.

“The impact of extreme weather, as experienced last winter, creates a significant challenge in addressing potholes.”

They add that many roads in the borough need resurfacing – but limited cash means works can only take place “in the worst cases.”


READ MORE: Bracknell road repairs: more than one in ten need resurfacing


Proposals backed by council leaders say £2 million extra should be put towards fixing roads in the council’s capital budget – the pot of money it spends on major infrastructure – next year. This would bring the total amount to be spent annually to £3,730,000.

BFC Councillor Gillbe said: “One of the most common problems that we all hear is the issue of road maintenance.

“I’m very proud that we’re able to use this budget as a chance to allocate towards extra funding towards road maintenance. It’s clearly one of the top issues for people on the doorstep.”

The announcement comes after councillors said the borough’s roads were 'in an appalling state' – and called for more government funding to fix the problem.


READ MORE: Bracknell roads in “appalling state,” James Sunderland told


In a letter to Bracknell’s Conservative MP James Sunderland last month, Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors said: “Many residential roads across Bracknell Forest are in an appalling state of repair, falling far short of the standards residents and local businesses should reasonably be able to expect.

“We are writing to ask for your urgent intervention to secure additional highways maintenance funding.”

Mr Sunderland replied that the government had said some £8billion that been intended for the now-scrapped HS2 high speed rail line would be distributed among councils for roads. He added: “I also look forward to securing some of that for Bracknell.”

Stuart McKellar, the council’s senior official responsible for finance, suggested Bracknell had got around a quarter of a million pounds of this cash, included in the spending proposals.

While he welcomed the extra government funding, he said it was “small-scale” in comparison to the increased amount the council proposes to spend.

Mr McKellar said: “It’s around a quarter of a million pounds in terms of the 24/25 programme which is not unhelpful but it’s fairly small scale in comparison with the council’s own proposals.”