07.04.16
Pothole funding needs to be ‘230 times’ larger to tackle frustrating problem – LGA
New pothole funding announced today is insufficient to address the road repairs backlog of local councils, the LGA has said.
The government announced today that councils will receive £10m each year for the next five years from a £250m Pothole Repair Fund included in the most recent Budget, which aims to fix four million potholes.
Cllr Martin Tett, transport spokesperson for the LGA, said that more than 230 times the amount of funding promised would be needed to cover a road repair backlog of £12bn, or an average of £69m for each council.
He said: “Local authorities are proving remarkably efficient in how they use this diminishing funding pot but they remain trapped in a frustrating cycle that will only ever leave them able to patch up those roads that are inadequate.
“The condition of our roads is only going to get worse unless we address it as a national priority. The government's own traffic projections predict a potential increase in traffic of up to 55% by 2040. Councils desperately need long-term and consistent funding to invest in the resurfacing projects which our road network desperately needs over the next decade.”
Cllr Tett added that the government should reinvest fuel duty in road repairs.
The funding, calculated according to the size of local road networks, will be distributed to 100 councils this year and help remove around 943,000 potholes.
To view the government’s online map of how much funding each local area will receive, go here.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said this is just one part of an “unprecedented investment” in local road maintenance over the next five years, adding that the government would spend £6.1bn by 2020.
Recent AA research found that 39% of its members had suffered pothole-related damage to their cars in the past five years.
(Image c. Danny Lawson from PA Wire)