£1.9-MILLION plans to tackle the pothole crisis on West Devon’s roads have been given a cautious welcome.

As part of a £1.9m programme of work announced by Devon County Council last week, the Tavistock area will get more than £15,000 and Yelverton has been allocated £20,300.

The money will be added to £41.1m already set aside by the county council to tackle potholes on the county’s network of roads — which, in Tavistock’s case, means a total budget of more than £35,000. Yelverton’s budget tops £40,000.

The amount of money given to each area has been calculated using pothole frequency data.

But Cllr Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for highway management, said: ‘While the additional money from the Pothole Action Fund is welcome, it won’t stretch as far as we would like.

‘The shortfall in funding from central government for our roads means that minor, rural roads are continuing to deteriorate.’

Tavistock county councillor Debo Sellis said: ‘Just shy of £2-million on 8,000 miles of roads is not a lot but we’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

‘It can make a difference in our area. Because we’ve thought strategically over the last seven years and have a good relationship with highways officials, Tavistock has not done badly.’

She said officials would be able to tackle areas off the main roads, such as estates, and take some safety measures, such as improving junctions in Gulworthy.

But she insisted: ‘If I were complacent enough to think this meant the problem was solved, I would give up.’

West Devon borough councillor Jeff Moody said: ’I just don’t see how the latest announcement will have any significant or long lasting effect in Tavistock and feel that the Government should be lobbied for increased funding for the long overdue repairs to rural roads in West Devon. The latest announcement is only a small sticking plaster to address the problem!”

Chairman of Buckland Monachorum Parish Council Ric Cheadle said from the parish council point of view any assistance was greatly received.

‘Potholes somehow always seem to be bigger than the previous year but I think we do get a particular problem around here because people park around the edges of the moor.

‘We do our best to report the problems to the county council which has a pothole hotline and will continue to do that. Whether this money is enough to solve the problems I don’t know but it does seem a reasonable amount.’

Mayor of West Devon and Tavistock town councillor John?Sheldon has urged anyone who has a pothole in the road that they live to report it to Devon County Council.

‘There is a map online which shows all the defects in the area,’ he said. ‘The money won’t go a long way but it will help.

‘Certainly there are two areas in Tavistock, near the former BT telephone exchange in Plymouth Road and at the top of West Street that really need addressing.

Mayor of Tavistock Mandy Ewings said potholes seemed to come out of nowhere and were very random.

‘They are a danger to motorists and pedestrians,’ she said.

Once the finalised pothole programme has been agreed later this year, it will be published on the county council’s pages on its website at (www.devon.gov.uk) and work will be completed this financial year.

To report a pothole go to the website at new.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/

Are you plagued by potholes? Tell us your views at timesletters @tindlenews.co.uk