Transport minister Mark Harper said there are “clearly challenges” with Gloucestershire’s roads but repairs do not come cheap.

Speaking exclusively to Punchline, The Forest of Dean MP and Secretary of State for Transport said the government has pledged an extra £200million for potholes but if more is needed he is willing to listen.

He was responding to calls from Gloucestershire County Council for him to lobby the government for more cash for road repairs.

Last week councillors faced off in a heated debate over the state of the county’s highways.

Lib Dems wanted to declare a ‘roads emergency’ as they said the “atrocious and embarrassing” state of many streets had left drivers “scared” to travel.

The ruling Tories voted down the proposal and said a £100m transformation of the highways department would see 170 roads replaced this year and 10,000s of potholes filled.

Both parties agreed the minister should be written to about extra funding.

Mr Harper said: “There are clearly challenges. There are clearly things we will see post-winter there are potholes and things for the council to deal with and they are.

“That’s why we found extra money in the budget. The extra £200million was to assist local authorities in fixing those and I think that’s important.

“So I’ll listen to what Gloucestershire County Council has to say with interest and then we can respond in due course.”

In March the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a £200m boost to the government’s Potholes Fund – increasing it to £700m for 2023/24.

But the Local Government Association estimates £12billion is needed over 12 years to bring local roads in England and Wales up to scratch.

When asked about the disparity Mr Harper pointed out the government had promised to pump more than £5billion into highways maintenance for local authorities between 2020-25.

He added: “The 200m was an extra amount that the Chancellor found in the budget specifically to do potholes and I very much hope that in future fiscal events, budgets and spending reviews, that he will continue to find extra money for potholes.

He said the government will “always listen” to councils about their needs but budgets are being squeezed.

“There are obviously pressures on public finances,” he added. “Inflation is not just a challenge for consumers, it’s also a challenge for the government and delivering these expensive capital programmes.

“But we’re spending a record amount of money on transport, £20billion this year and next year on both maintaining our transport networks and investing in new ones.

“So if Gloucestershire County Council wants to write to either me, I will write to the roads minister or they can write directly to the department.

“I’m sure those requests will be listened to, as we’re thinking about the plans that we make for the years to come.”