Data obtained by Cycling UK shows 58% of local authorities in Great Britain have less budget for road maintenance than they did in 2016/17, when adjusted for inflation

  • Cycling UK’s Pothole Watch campaign runs from 01 to 07 March, highlighting the need for investment in local roads and calling on the public to report road defects
  • Only 7% of councils filled every reported pothole within their target time
  • As overall highway spending increases, maintenance of local roads, which account for the majority of journeys, is getting left behind
  • Latest estimates suggest the cost of fixing England’s pothole problem has risen to £10.4bn

In a hole

More than half of local authorities in Britain have seen their budget for road maintenance fall in real terms. This is the conclusion of research looking over the past five years, published by Cycling UK.

The figures highlight the lack of funding to deal with the ever-worsening state of Britain’s roads. This comes after government announcements of various grants for funding pothole repairs. However, just one in 14 councils are now able to meet their own target repair times for fixing potholes.

The charity Cycling UK is calling on the public to report holes and other road defects they spot while out on essential journeys by using the interactive map on its Fill That Hole website, www.fillthathole.org.uk.

Money

In February, the Department for Transports released capital funding allocations for local road maintenance and pothole filling in 2021/22. It showed funding for councils falling £398m compared to last year. There will be a further fall next year.

In the recent Budget statement, there was no mention of further support for road repairs.

Lost time

Out of 82 local authorities that responded to Cycling UK’s Freedom of Information requests, just six stated that they repaired 100% of reported potholes within target times over the past five years.

One third of councils (27) met their targets less than 75% of the time. The worst performing council was Bristol, which met its target time on just 15% of repairs. Cumbria, West Lothian and Renfrewshire also filled less than half of identified potholes on time.

Out of 112 councils that responded to enquiries about pothole maintenance budgets, 65 (58%) reported a decrease in budget from 2016/17 to 2020/21, when adjusted for inflation.

The most recent data from the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) show that in 2020 it would have cost £10.42bn to bring roads up to standard across England alone – up from £8.99bn the previous year. It indicates road maintenance funding is not keeping pace with requirements.

Damaging breakdown

With 68% of journeys in the UK being less than five miles, Cycling UK says local roads are the backbone of our transport network. However, investment is continuing to stagnate in favour of spending on major routes, including infamous Smart motorways.

Cycling UK emphasises that as well as causing £1.25bn worth of damage to vehicles each year, potholes put the lives of vulnerable road users in danger. Since 2016, 10 cyclist deaths and 178 serious injuries have been attributed to road defects in Great Britain. But anecdotal evidence also points to drivers swerving and suddenly braking to avoid damaged roads. Road users are also accused of concentrating more on the condition of road surfaces rather than what is going on around them on the road. Poor road surfaces can also negatively affect grip and stopping distances.

Call for help

“Our findings sadly confirm that government investment in pothole repairs is doing as much good as a sticking plaster on a broken leg,” said Keir Gallagher, the charity’s campaigns manager.

“With a majority of councils seeing their pothole budgets shrinking in real terms over the past five years, it’s time for the Government to commit to ‘levelling up’ the local roads we all use every day, whether we’re walking, cycling, or driving.

“Instead, by investing £27bn in the strategic roads network in England, when less than half of that could fix every pothole in the country, the Government is prioritising a minority of road users and abandoning the rest of us to dangerous pothole dodging every time we leave the house.”

While Cycling UK would like to see proper funding from central government to allow local councils to maintain our roads properly, Mr Gallagher is also calling on the public to do their bit in alerting them to problems in the first place.

“On average, there is one defect for every 110 metres of road in the UK. Reporting and getting those potholes fixed by your local authority is easy using the Fill That Hole’s interactive map and app, at www.fillthathole.org.uk.”