Cumberland Council Secures £27.3 Million for Highways Maintenance, Introduces Dedicated Fund for Residential Roads

Safer Highways
Feb 2
2 min read

Following last week’s meeting of the Highways and Transport Strategic Board (Thursday 29 January), Cumberland Council has approved the allocation of £27.348 million in highways maintenance funding received from the Department for Transport for 2026/27.

For the first time, the council has created a dedicated £2.85 million fund for the unclassified road network, primarily covering residential streets in towns and villages, as well as minor rural roads. The investment aims to address deterioration identified through inspections and public reports, including potholes and other defects.

The condition of unclassified roads was cited by the Department for Transport as a factor in Cumberland’s recent red rating for highway maintenance performance. However, the council has already begun work to improve this network and has informed the DfT of ongoing actions.

Planned improvements over the next four years include:

Repairs to almost 200 unclassified roads
Upgrades to around 250 classified roads
Additional funding allocated to bridges, road lighting, footways and cycleways, traffic signals, and the public rights of way network

Cllr Denise Rollo, Executive Member for Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places, said:

“It is fantastic news that Cumberland Council has secured £27.348 million in highways maintenance funding, and for the first time, we have created a dedicated £2.85 million fund specifically to improve residential and minor rural roads. This targeted investment will make a real difference to everyday travel, and we hope will be welcomed by our residents.

“Our inspectors are out on the network daily, but we still rely on our communities to help us identify problems. If you spot a defect, whether it’s a pothole, broken streetlight or damaged sign, please report it through our website. There is a button on the homepage called ‘Report a problem with a street or road’; it only takes around five minutes to log an issue, after which we can assess and plan repairs.”

New and amended speed limits approved by the Board include: