HIGHWAYS staff are confident they can win the winter war against potholes in Huddersfield.

Extra teams will start work on Monday to try to repair the ravages of the recent bad weather.

The number of crews out on the roads will double from five to 10.

And they are optimistic that they will have enough cash in the kitty to meet the repairs – even though funding is likely to be cut in the future.

Councils in England will struggle to repair potholes caused by extreme winter weather because of a £165m shortfall in funding, the Local Government Association warned today.

The lobbying organisation, which represents more than 350 councils, said highways departments would be hit by cuts as they begin to survey the damage caused by the worst December weather in a century.

Potholes occur where water repeatedly freezes and expands in cracks in the road, leaving holes which can damage vehicles.

Last year, local authorities fixed more than two million potholes after receiving an extra £100m on top of their budget for road repairs, according to the LGA.

But from April, councils will receive £65m less from the Highways Maintenance Budget.

The allowance for road repairs in 2010/2011 is £871m, dropping to £806m next year and £779m the year after, the LGA said.

By 2013/2014, the Highways Maintenance Budget is expected to be £750m and £707m in 2014/2015.

In Kirklees, the existing funding has been topped up from reserves.

A council spokesman said: “Existing budgets are being used for the normal wear and tear expected during the winter months, but we have identified additional funding which gives us more resources to deal with potholes.

“Staff have continued to repair potholes across the district this week and the number of repair gangs will be increased to 10 from Monday.

“They are dealing with all reported potholes and also attending to any more they may come across.

“Once reported, potholes are given priority if they meet certain criteria which include their location in the road - where a vehicle wheel is likely to hit it – or if they are particularly deep.

“Those classed as priority are treated as an emergency repair and the council aims to deal with these within 24 hours of being reported. Delays can occur if traffic management is needed to allow the repair to take place.

“Other potholes are usually dealt with within eight weeks of being reported but are sometimes repaired as part of scheduled road improvements due to take place in the area.

“We will be clearing any backlog as quickly as possible.”

Clr Peter Box, chairman of the LGA’s economy and transport board, said: “Ensuring our roads are kept up to a safe standard for motorists is a priority for councils and we will be working flat out to repair as many potholes as we possibly can.

“The coldest December in 100 years will have taken a massive toll on our roads and this damage is coming at a time when councils are being made to scale back their highways maintenance budgets.

“Last year councils on average fixed one pothole every 33 seconds. With tens of millions of pounds being cut from road maintenance budgets this year it is going to be a huge struggle for already-stretched highways teams to keep up.”

Regional and local transport minister Norman Baker said: “We know how important it is that local roads are well maintained.

“That is why, despite the need to make in-year budget reductions, we have protected day-to-day funding for local road maintenance this year.

“We will invest £3 billion in maintenance over the next four years as well as spending £6 million to help local authorities make their road maintenance programmes as efficient and effective as possible.

“However, local councils should be managing their road maintenance throughout the year and in view of the last two winters we would expect winter maintenance to be a priority for them.”

l To report a pothole in Kirklees people should log on to www.kirklees.gov.uk/roads or for very urgent matters, please call 0800 731 8765.