COUNCILLORS in Worcestershire have hailed the county's £47 million Government cash injection - after admitting they expected a worse outcome.

Worcestershire County Council's Conservative cabinet has met for the first time since ministers announced a £2 billion handout for growth blueprints across the country.

As your Worcester News revealed last week, the money will help finally get Worcestershire Parkway station off the ground in Norton, dual-link most of the A4440 Southern Link Road in St Peter's, and create 3,000 jobs.

Some of the major projects it will also fund include the Hoo Brook Link Road in Kidderminster, Worcester Technology Park off Junction 6 of the M5 and another expansion of Malvern Hills Science Park.

The £47 million is being handed to Worcestershire's Local Enterprise Partnership over the next five years.

Councillor John Campion, cabinet member for transformation and commissioning, said: "This is an endorsement from the Government in the work Worcestershire has been doing to make sure we get the infrastructure we need for the future.

"I don't think it's over egging the pudding to say the Hoo Brook Link Road, for example, is the single biggest piece of regeneration we'll see in our part of the county for a generation."

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the deputy leader and cabinet member for economy, skills and infrastructure, said: "There is a whole collection of schemes in this package that mean a lot to people and businesses across Worcestershire.

"They have effectively been given the green light because of this and it's a great credit to everyone involved."

The leader, Councillor Adrian Hardman, said the challenge now was to "deliver it on time, and to cost".

Councillor Ken Pollock said he expected around one per cent of the Government's cash, but instead it got 2.5 per cent.

"Getting 2.5 per cent of the national cake is a great credit to everyone involved," he said.

During the cabinet debate it also emerged that June's Government award of £3.3 million for potholes in Worcestershire is the best in the UK.

New comparable data has revealed how the cash is the highest handout in the country on a per-kilometre basis.

The Department for Transport handed out £168 million to 148 councils which had made bids for cash.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said in June how Worcestershire deserved the money because of "its determination to tackle potholes".

Speaking during the cabinet meeting, Cllr Hardman said "being top dog" in the country was a real accolade.