Millions on way to improve road across Dewsbury, Batley and Spen

At the end of last month, the government announced a £1.6bn investment to tackle the country’s ‘pothole plague’, with the money allocated across local authorities including Kirklees Council.

To unlock the full funding, councils have to publish details on how many potholes they have filled and the condition of roads in an annual report.

Now, further cash for Kirklees’ road network has been announced by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), with just under £125m to be spent across the wider West Yorkshire region.

Kirklees is set to receive £26.1m, Leeds £33.3m, Wakefield £21.5m, Bradford £28m and Calderdale £15.8m.

This will see approximately 450 miles of road repaired and protected, as well as wider highways works.

The largest part of the funding – totalling £105.2m – will go towards works including resurfacing and repairing roads, maintaining structures such as bridges, improving drains as well as renewing streetlights and signs across the region.

This includes £14.8m from the Local Highways Maintenance Fund announced by the government back in December 2024.

Meanwhile £8.3m has been earmarked for the Safe Roads programme, which includes new traffic calming measures and improvements to junctions.

Just under £10m will go towards improvements such as enhancing traffic lights and new pedestrian crossings, while £600,000 will help develop active travel schemes.

Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said “Ensuring all our roads are safe and well maintained is important for building a better-connected region.”