Julia Lopez MP has today welcomed news that Havering will get at least £10.4m in funding to fill pot holes and resurface roads after she persuaded the Transport Secretary to give the cash directly to boroughs rather than Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. 

In October, the Prime Minister announced that the cancellation of HS2 would see some of its budget spread to other transport projects in the UK, with £8.3bn going to councils to resurface roads and local transport schemes. Today, Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, wrote to Hornchurch & Upminster MP, Mrs Lopez, to share that Havering would be getting over £10m of reallocated funding over the next decade.

To ensure that Londoners see rapid improvements to the road network, the capital will be getting resources immediately, with Havering expected to receive £333,000 before April and the same again in the next financial year. In total, £235m will be invested to improve and repair the capital’s roads over the next 11 years.

Concerned that the Mayor would not direct new resources to London's outer boroughs, Mrs Lopez joined forces with the capital's Conservative MPs to ask Mr Harper to give the cash straight to borough councils. This puts the money directly in the hands of local council leaders rather than Mayor Khan.

Alongside today’s road investments into London’s boroughs, the Government has also announced this a £250m investment to improve other parts of London’s public transport network. This funding will directly support the capital’s investment programme, including new trains for the Piccadilly Line which will support up to 2,000 jobs across the country, and cannot be used to fund TfL’s day-to-day operations.

Mrs Lopez said of today's news:

‘It's great to see so much pot hole and road resurfacing cash go into Havering’s highways as I know how frustrated residents are by poorly maintained streets. I am particularly grateful to the Transport Secretary who has heard and acted on the concerns put forward by me and other London Conservative MPs that this funding should go straight to councils. We cannot rely on Mayor Khan to give outer London what it needs. By allocating funds based on the size of a council's road network, the Government has made sure that Havering will get its fair share of this funding.

Including this week’s £250m investment in capital projects, London has received £6.6bn in Government support since 2020. London has the transport investment it needs, if not the Mayor with the will to take responsibility or to improve the public transport in outer-London. I will continue to challenge Mr Khan to ensure that Havering receives what it deserves when it comes to the things he controls, especially policing and transport'.