UK’s pothole bill reaches £17bn – Asphalt Industry Alliance
The UK’s pothole bill has risen to nearly £17bn, according to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey commissioned by the Asphalt Industry Alliance.
The report found that a pothole has been repaired every 18 seconds, every day, for the last decade.
But despite this the condition of UK roads has worsened.
The report also warned of the potential for further deterioration in the future. It found that 17% of the local road network, or 34,600 miles, has less than five years’ structural life remaining, while 52% has less than 15 years left.
However, the average road is only resurfaced once every 93 years.
Short-term funding
David Giles, chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, which commissions the ALARM survey, said: “Over £20bn has been spent on carriageway maintenance in England and Wales over the last decade. However, due to the short-term allocation of this funding, it has resulted in no quantifiable uplift in the condition and resilience of the network.
“In fact, almost all (94%) local authority highway teams reported that, in their opinion, there has been no improvement to their local network over the last year: a view no doubt shared by the majority of road users.”
About 1.9 million potholes were repaired in the 2024/25 financial year, at a cost of £137m, but the report predicts a one-time fix would take at least 12 years.
Giles said:
“There needs to be a complete change in mindset away from short-term to longer-term funding commitments. That is why we are calling on government to set a minimum five-year funding horizon and a substantial, sustained increase in investment with budgets ring-fenced specifically for local roads maintenance.”
