A COUNCIL which has faced having to cut its budget by £172m is set to spend a record amount on road maintenance.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive approved spending an extra £3m from its reserves to supplement Government grants to address the effects of winter damage to the road network through a mixture of resurfacing, structural patching and surface dressing.

The authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les said the decision recognised the state of the roads in parts of the county and reflected the importance of highways to communities.

Deputy leader Cllr Gareth Dadd said the extra funding for road repairs was only available because of the austerity budget cuts that had been introduced.

He said: “This authority has brought forward savings ahead of the curve that would have to have been brought in anyway, leaving us in a position that many other authorities are not in. We can prioritise spend in other areas of our core business because of our efforts.”