Just before Christmas, drivers were given what looked like an attractive present by the government – the promise that £6 billion will be spent on fixing potholes over the next 6 years.
But when the wrapping paper was ripped off, it wasn’t quite the stunning package we were given to believe.
Old money
For a start, it wasn’t a fresh injection of cash into country’s beleaguered road ne2rk.
The funding for road repairs was originally unveiled in the 2013 Spending Review, and was announced (again) in December by Patrick McLoughlin, transport secretary.
The move prompted Labour MP Richard Burden to accuse the government of a “complete Christmas con.”
McLoughlin said the funds will be enough to repair 18 million potholes countrywide: “The £6 billion funding I am announcing today will put an end to short-term fixes and will mean we have committed £10 billion between 2010 and 2021.”
His mention of short-term fixes is intended to prevent further criticism of the government, which has previously come under fire for its quick-fix approach to road repairs.
Divvying up
Over £4.7 billion of the funds will be split between 115 local councils, with those that have the biggest road ne2rks getting the greatest amount of funding.
A further £575m will be available to councils to help maintain local roads, junctions, bridges and street lighting, but authorities will have to bid for a share of this.
There’s also another £578m which has been put aside for a new “incentive fund scheme” which will start in 2016. This money will be used to reward councils who can demonstrate that they have made cost-effective road improvements.
Half measures?
While £6 billion might sound like an awful lot of money it may not be anywhere near enough to solve the problem as some councils are facing bills of close to £100million to fix their crumbling carriageways.
A recent freedom of information (FoI) request from the Press Association found Leeds city council has the biggest backlog, with repairs estimated to cost somewhere between £90million and £100million, with Gloucestershire’s £86million repair bill and Islington’s £79million tab not too far behind.
The FoI request also gives an indication of the size of the task faced by local councils – even before this year’s bad weather sets in, Derbyshire has 1,110 potholes to repair, Plymouth 3,200 and Northumberland a whopping 6,600.
The idea that even £6billion may not be enough has also been supported by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (who knew?!?) which estimates an immediate one-off expenditure of £12 billion in England alone is needed to return our roads to a state we can be proud of.
Inflation will also have a big impact on the government’s planned expenditure on roads. Following today’s announcement, the shadow transport team @LabourTransport tweeted that the £976m-a-year allocated for local road maintenance is set to decline in real terms to £865m by 2020.
It also claimed that over 2,220 miles more of our local roads now need maintenance work compared to 2010 – further than going from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Going to pot
There certainly seems to be some pretty damning evidence around to suggest that road repairs have been bottom of the agenda for far too long. According to the RAC, from 2012 to 2013 it saw a 67% increase in vehicles damaged by potholes.
A survey conducted by the motoring organisation earlier in 2014 found that 41% of drivers said the condition of local roads is a major concern – second only to the cost of fuel. And with the cost of fuel plummeting, it could soon be the biggest.
A further 68% said they wanted targeted local road improvements and 65% would like to see more maintenance of motorways and trunk roads.
Axle to grind
Poor roads aren’t just inconvenient, but can cause a huge amount of damage.
Research by the website Potholes.co.uk, an independent website to help motorists assist councils to improve the state of roads, found that the average repair bill for pothole-induced axle or suspension damage is £247. In contrast, it costs councils just £52 to repair one pothole.
They are also extremely dangerous. My local Kent roads are riddled with potholes that you have to swerve to avoid, and many have been left to deteriorate over a period of several years.
Road to ruin?
Michael Dugher MP, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, said: “Hard-pressed motorists and businesses are justifiably sick and tired of having their vehicles damaged because of Britain’s pothole crises.
“This Tory Government is all talk. Motorists have had enough of their failure and broken promises.”
I actually preferred his tweet to his official announcement. It read: “Govt announcement on roads seems to be: We’ve totally knackered the roads over the last 5 years. We might do something about it in the next 6.”
Can you dig it?
Only time will tell how big an impact the £6 billion funding will have over the next few years, but in the meantime you can do your bit to let councils know about the worst-affected areas.
You can report any potholes you find here, or you can use the ‘Fill That Hole’ iPhone app, which lets you take a photo of a pothole and combine this with GPS technology to pinpoint the exact location of the hazard.
The problem is then reported to the National Cycling Charity, which in turn contacts the right people on your behalf to get roads repaired.
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