POTHOLES: How much ££ is needed?

The staggering amount of cash needed to repair the nation’s crumbling roads has been revealed.

It’s a bit rough out there at the minute – quite literally – with Britain’s roads in an increasingly sorry state and councils seemingly struggling to find the cash to keep up with the repairs. Which is exactly what the latest figures from the Asphalt Industry Alliance have revealed.

Their Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, which relies on data supplied by 72% of local authorities across the length and breadth of the country, makes for a sobering, but not altogether shocking, read.

Its deep dive into the state of the roads across England and Wales suggests that it could take a whopping 10 years and a staggering £16.3 billion to just fix the Tarmac that’s looked after by local authorities.  

Speaking about the findings, Chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, Rick Green, said: “It’s clear that there is still a mountain to climb when it comes to improving the condition of our local roads, which are a key asset on which we all rely, every day,”

“The Government has recognised that fixing our roads is about more than filling in potholes with its announcement of the additional Network North funding in England. But, while the Transport Secretary stated that this additional £8.3 billion over 11 years is enough to resurface 5000 miles of local roads, this equates to just 2.5% of the network – or less than 0.25% per year.”