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Motoring news

Potholes on roads 'reaching crisis point'

22/11/2012

Britain's pothole problem is reaching a critical juncture according to council officials.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has made the claim ahead of next month's Autumn Statement by the Chancellor, where it is feared even more funding will be stripped from councils' road maintenance budgets.

The body has called on the Treasury to increase their investment to repair UK's collapsing road network and improve driving conditions for the country's motorists and car insurance policy holders.

Edmund King, president of the AA, has told The Press Association, "We are extremely concerned about this warning. Potholes are a scourge for all road users, whatever means of transport they are using.

"Cyclists and motorcyclists risk serious injuries, motorists face financial loss and communities can be blighted by potholes. In April, the Government published its pothole review report Prevention - And a Better Cure [but] evidence suggests that not enough prevention is going on due to restricted budgets.

"We need both good practice and adequate long-term, ring-fenced funding to rid us of these damaging defects. If our waterlogged roads suffer heavy freezing this winter, the situation will go from bad to worse."

The LGA has blamed systemic underfunding for the prevalence of potholes on Britain's roads, with the already implemented £442 million reduction in their maintenance budgets meaning many authorities are struggling to even patch up the problem.

The body also warned that if the weather this winter is as severe as in 2010/11 - which caused £600 million worth of damage to the country's roads - the situation could become untenable. The LGA claim that by 2015, local authorities will receive 19 per cent less for road maintenance than they did during this particularly harsh winter.