FUNDING to repair damaged roads in the city has been slashed by more than £600,000 for the coming year.

Brighton and Hove City Council will receive £3.3 million to maintain roads in 2021-22, the Department for Transport has announced.

That is £648,000 less than the £3.9 million provided in the current financial year – a reduction of 17 per cent.

Across England, road maintenance funding has been cut by £400 million for the coming year, with £1.1 billion to be handed out to councils and combined authorities.

The funding includes £500 million to repair potholes, with £1.5 million going to Brighton and Hove City Council as part of its allocation.

The Department for Transport estimates the money for the city could repair 29,100 potholes.

But the County Councils Network, which represents England's county councils, says the pothole fund should not mask an overall reduction in maintenance funding.

Councillor Barry Lewis, economic growth spokesperson for CCN, said: "The Government has given with one hand and taken with the other, as the overall funding pot for roads maintenance will fall compared to last year.

"Our councils rely heavily on this capital funding to help tackle the backlog of road repairs in their areas and to ensure their road networks are in a good condition.

"Unless further funding is made available, our councils will have no choice but to reduce their roads maintenance work this coming year."

In addition, Brighton and Hove City Council will also receive £3.1 million for transport improvement projects such as road safety schemes, cycle ways and bus lanes for 2021-22.

This is an increase of £24,000 compared to this financial year.

During the pandemic the government has provided an extra £7.2 billion in funding to councils to spend on local priorities.

A council spokesman said: “We’re currently analysing the detail of the government’s latest funding announcement around roads maintenance.

“There are a number of different funding streams that support our road maintenance work. These sometimes change and merge over time.

“This makes year on year comparisons difficult until we’ve worked through the figures in detail.”

November's spending review pledged a further £3 billion for authorities in 2021-22.

A DfT spokesperson said: "We know high-quality local roads make a difference to people's lives, which is why we have committed £1.125 billion to local roads maintenances for 2021-22, including £500 million from the Potholes Fund which will allow the equivalent of 10 million potholes to be rectified by local councils."