Press release -
SHOCKING BACKLOG OF POTHOLES FOUND FROM FOI REQUESTS
The scale of the pothole problem caused by the poor state of Britain's roads has been revealed in a new study showing councils facing huge backlogs of repairs. A Government announcement that local councils in England are to get a near-6 billion fund to fight potholes over the next six years is not enough to tackle the problem, ministers have been warned.
Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to local authorities in England showed some faced a backlog of up to £100 million to repair roads in their area. Others had thousands of potholes to repair, even before the winter set in. Unions representing taxi drivers and council workers said the country has a "shocking" record of investment in the roads, while the AA said the poor state of roads is the main concern for motorists.
The Government said before Christmas that the funding will help English local authorities tackle potholes and improve local roads between 2015 and 2021. A succession of severe winters and the devastating floods earlier this year have left councils playing catch-up with road maintenance.
The FoI information obtained by the Press Association showed that some of the biggest backlog of repairs were in Leeds (between £90 million and £100 million), Gloucestershire (£86 million), Oldham (£60 million), Rochdale (£58 million),Islington in London (£79 million) and Swindon (£40 million).
Many councils said they did not have a backlog, while some said repairs were "historic" or described the cost as bringing their road network to a defect-free standard.
Some councils said they had thousands of potholes to repair, including Plymouth (3,200), Northumberland (6,600) and Derbyshire (1,550).
RAC chief engineer David Bizley said funding for potholes was welcome but there were doubts whether this was "new money".
"We also question whether this really goes far enough. Recent estimates by the Asphalt Industry Alliance suggest a one-off investment of £12 billion is needed in England to deal with the backlog in road maintenance, the majority of which is associated with those roads for which local authorities are responsible."
Brian Strutton, national officer of the GMB union, said: "The announced money is less than half the official estimate of the investment needed to cover the backlog of road repairs, so the public should ask why the Government is not doing more.
"In any event, not all councils will benefit from this announcement. The promise of future money may or may not materialise under the next government. "Meanwhile, existing potholes will crack up when this winter bites, leaving roads in an unfit and dangerous state for motorists."
Peter Box, the Local Government Association's transport spokesman, said: "While helpful, this new money does not bridge the overall funding gap which is increasing year on year."
Dr Adam Marshall, policy director at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "The backlog of road repairs remains huge, and more investment will be needed in the years ahead."
Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: "Our members are repeatedly complaining to us that their vehicles are being damaged by the shocking condition of the roads. When you are a self-employed driver if your taxi or truck is damaged and you can't work it means that you can't earn either."
This is why we do what we do at Street Repairs. http://streetrepairs.co.uk/national-pothole-day
Topics
- Social issues, General
Categories
- pothole
- potholes
- pothole underfunding
- report potholes
- national pothole day
- street repairs
You can help keep your neighbourhood safe, clean and inviting, by reporting any maintenance problems you notice to your local council. In the past it has been difficult and time consuming to make a report, with residents needing to track down the correct department, follow the right procedure or even identifying the correct location of the defect. Trying to follow a reported fault can also be tedious, with Street Repairs it’s easy to follow your report as we keep you updated with regular text messages and emails. Our systems will identify your location, find the right council and keep you posted on progress.
Street Repairs makes the whole process much easier, by providing one website through which residents can submit any problem, to any local council anywhere, anytime. Smartphone technology has allowed residents to report problems in real time. You can attach photographs and give a detailed description whilst out and about. Basically we have handed street fault reporting power over to you the public.
Once the problem is reported, our work is only just beginning. We try to work with councils to help them prioritise the works that need carrying out which assists in managing their maintenance budgets. We also encourage and closely monitor their progress and follow up on all cases submitted via the Street Repairs. Progress updates from the council are regularly requested to ensure a satisfactory outcome for local residents and the council.
Street Repairs is committed to making it as easy as possible for local people to report local problems to their local council. We then try to work with the council to get these issues resolved, while keeping the original informant up-to-date with the progress being made.
