Government to tackle UK potholes crisis with £1.6bn funding
The government has announced it is aims to repair seven million potholes in the UK with an investment of £1.6bn.
This is an increase of nearly 50% on last year’s road maintenance budget.
Funds have been allocated to each local authority, with over £327m for local authorities in north west, North East and Yorkshire and Humber.
Meanwhile, local authorities in East Midlands and West Midlands will receive over £372m, local authorities in the East of England will receive over £244, London and the South East will receive over £322m, and authorities in the South West will receive over £300m,
The public is now being encouraged to report potholes to accelerate repairs in their area.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, said: “Broken roads can risk lives and cost families hundreds if not thousands of pounds on repairs. That’s a cost that can easily be avoided by investing properly in our roads.
“Through our Plan for Change we’re determined to put more money back into the pockets of hardworking people and improve living standards. That’s why we’re giving councils funding to repair our roads and get Britain moving again – with a clear expectation that they get on with the job.”
RAC head of policy, Simon Williams, said:
“This is the biggest one-off road maintenance funding settlement councils in England have ever been given, so we have high hopes it’s the turning point that ends the degradation of our roads and finally delivers fit-for-purpose, smooth surfaces for drivers and all other road users.
“It’s also good to see the government proactively encouraging drivers to report potholes, requiring councils to collect the right data to capture the true state of their road networks and incentivising authorities that use the money to good effect.”
Edmund King, AA president, said:
“We urge councils to focus on permanent and innovative repairs rather than adopting a ‘patch and run’ approach. Better maintenance of the road network is the number one concern of drivers as damage costs a fortune and potholes can be fatal for those on two wheels.”
