Kent is to receive a cash ‘boost’ to fix thousands of potholes - but it will only partly cancel out a £2m cut the authority is making to its own roads maintenance budget.

The government has announced today KCC will receive £1,473,000 as its share of a national annual fund to help councils tackle damaged roads.

The money is, according to the Department for Transport, enough to fix 27,792 potholes across the county and represents “unprecedented” investment.

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However, the sum leaves KCC short of more than £500,000 because it has already cut £2m from its road maintenance budget for 2016-17.

The politician in charge of Kent's roads said the money - while welcome - did not go anywhere near what KCC needed.

Cllr Matthew Balfour (Con), cabinet member for roads and transport, said:

VIDEO: Kent will receive almost £1.5m to repair more than 27,700 pot holes.

“Whilst we welcome the Department for Transport announcement that Kent County Council will receive £1.4 million to further improve the standard of our roads, it comes on the back of a cut of £2 million to our grant allocation."

“In Kent we have over a £200 million backlog of highway resurfacing - set to grow to over £350 million in 10 years at current levels of investment" - Cllr Matthew Balfour, KCC

“We have a deteriorating asset that needs investment over the coming years. A recent survey suggests there is a backlog of £12 billion across the country.

“In Kent we have over a £200 million backlog of highway resurfacing - set to grow to over £350 million in 10 years at current levels of investment."

Medway is to receive £135,000 - enough to fill 2,547 potholes.

The government fund was initially set out by the coalition in 2014, which established a £6bn fund to run up until 2021.

Most councils have included in their budgets an expected allocation from the government - including KCC.

Council leader Paul Carter (Con) said in February he expected the money from the government to counter the £2m cut.

“There is a £2m reduction in the highways maintenance budget although we are hopeful that the pot hole fund announced in the Autumn Statement may fill this hole,” he said.

Announcing the money, the transport minister Patrick McGloughlin said: “I know how important well-maintained roads are to people across the South East. Almost every journey starts and ends on a local road, so the government is giving councils in the South East £8.3 million specifically to tackle the blight of potholes in their area.

“This is just one part of our unprecedented investment in local road maintenance over the next five years. We are giving a record £778 million to local authorities in South East that will improve journeys across the region.”

But while the money may be welcome to some councils, it is unlikely to convince all.

The Local Government Association said in 2014 the scheme did not go far enough:

“Fixing potholes is a sticking plaster-approach which does nothing to address the fundamental decay of the underlying road infrastructure,”

A Kent County Council spokesman said: “We very much welcome the Department for Transport announcement that Kent County Council will receive £1.4 million to further improve the standard of our roads by tackling potholes.

“We work hard to maintain our roads to help prevent problems and potholes in the future and typically spend around £15-20 million each year on resurfacing our roads.

“Last year, 27,646 potholes were repaired and 133,279 M2 patching was carried out.

“The Department for Transport, in 2014, set Kent’s Government funding for pothole repairs and local road improvements for a six-year period – replacing the previous approach of annual announcements – which allows better medium-term planning.

“Kent initiatives such as ‘Find & Fix’, an online reporting and tracking tool, support our commitment to make permanent, first-time fixes.

“Residents are asked to report potholes and other faults on line at www.kent.gov.uk/highways, where details can be easily uploaded and locations pinpointed on an interactive map.

“Providing this information has helped speed up the rate of repairs. In the event of an emergency, residents should call 03000 418181.”