The Budget: Osborne gives nod to Mersey Gateway Bridge, M4 upgrade and extra maintenance fund

Osborne: road upgrades, pothole repairs and ten-year plan

Osborne: road upgrades, pothole repairs and ten-year plan

The Chancellor George Osborne today approved a £270m guarantee for the Mersey Gateway Bridge and will give new tax and borrowing powers to the Welsh Assembly Government necessary to upgrade the M4.

Osborne claimed the coalition was "the first government to have committed to long-term and rising capital budgets" for infrastructure and said he will in the autumn set out detailed plans for the projects that he will fund for the rest of the decade.

The Chancellor is also making an additional £200m available "to repair potholes across the country" which local highway authorities will be able to bid for.