MILLIONS more pounds have been committed to road repairs in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire County Council is to boost funding for essential road repairs by a further £15 million - bringing the total of new money committed to highways maintenance this summer to nearly £50 million.

The additional £15 million, announced at the quarterly council meeting yesterday will support the Government’s recently announced provisional allocation of £24m. The council hopes to improve the county’s rural roads network to help support the growth of rural economies.

Earlier this year, Councillor Weighell met the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, after sending him a personal letter outlining the nature and scale of the financial challenges facing North Yorkshire’s highways maintenance operations and seeking Government aid to maintain and improve the rural network.

In his letter, Councillor Weighell revealed that a quarter of the county’s minor roads – which cover a distance of 5,000 kilometres and constitute more than half the network - are in urgent need of repairs.

He warned that the issue was “rapidly becoming a crisis.”