Local councils are to be given half a billion pounds to repair around 10 million potholes plaguing the country's local roads, the Department for Transport (DfT) said yesterday (Feb 15).
The funding allocation is the second of 5 equal instalments from Rishi Sunak's £2.5billion Potholes Fund announced by the Government in the 2020 Budget, providing £500 million a year to local authorities between 2020/21 and 2024/25.
The Government estimates that the average pothole costs around £50 to fill in, and using those figures means that the funding will permit the equivalent of 10 million potholes to be fixed, making thousands of local roads both safer and easier to drive and cycle on.
In terms of allocating the funds to councils around the country, the South West region is earmarked to receive £82.5million of the fund whilst the East of England will receive nearly £68.5million.
However, the North East will be allocated just £28.5million, less than a third of what has been allocated to the pothole-plagued South West.
Last year the comparison website MoneySupermarket released a report naming Cornwall as the nation's worst area for potholes, with over 210,000 reported since January 2017 with Cambridgeshire not far behind with just over 184,000 potholes reported.
Whilst in London's upmarket borough of Kensington & Chelsea, just 141 potholes were reported in the past three years.
In response to the Government's pothole funding allocation, the AA warned that the local road network is in 'desperate need of repair' that is beyond filling in craters.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “Last month, just 15 per cent of our members told us that residential roads were in a good condition with drivers in the North West, South East and East Midlands giving their streets the lowest ratings.
“Patching up roads may seem like a quick fix, but in reality, it is just a sticking plaster,” he said.
Cousens said that realistically roads need to be completely resurfaced for them to remain safe for users.
“However, studies show that residential roads in England get resurfaced on average every 119 years.
“If your street is lucky enough to be chosen we’d recommend a socially distanced celebration, as it will probably be a once in a lifetime event!” Cousens added.
The UK Government's Transport Minister Baroness Vere said: “We know potholes are more than just a nuisance – they can be dangerous to drivers and cyclists alike, and cause damage to thousands of vehicles every year.
“The funding allocated today will help councils ensure roads in their area are kept up to standard, and that the potholes that blight road users can be dealt with promptly,” Baroness Vere added.
The DfT said that it has invested heavily in UK pothole filling since 2015, including the £296 million Pothole Action Fund, which ran from 2015/16 to 2020/21.
The DfT statement went on to say that it had 'topped up' its highway maintenance investment in 2018 with a one-off £420 million boost to all highway authorities in England, including London, and is investing £27 billion in a road regeneration programme, with £10 billion specifically allocated for maintenance, operations and renewals.
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Keyword: Government pledges half a billion pounds to fix 10 million potholes on local roads around the UK