Wiltshire Council spending more to fix local road issues
The RAC's motoring report calls for councils to invest more in local roads
Wiltshire Council has told us they believe the county's roads are in better condition than this time 12 months ago.
That's despite the RAC saying this week that road users have told them that the condition of roads they use regularly across the UK are worse than in 2023.
Almost three-quarters (73%) of drivers surveyed for the RAC Report on Motoring say the condition of the local roads they use regularly is poorer than a year ago, compared to 67% last year.
Cllr Nick Holder, cabinet member for Highways, Street scene and flooding at Wiltshire Council has told us they are spending more than they anticipated to keep the standards of roads in the county high.
"We've also been able through the extra investment that we've put into the local authority ourselves, we were able to sort of augment and increase what was originally planned," he said, saying that the council is now spending more on the roads this year than it has since 2021.
Council determined to deliver quality local roads
The RAC's report calls for increased spending from local authorities to improve the condition of roads in communities.
The council get's its funding for repairing roads from central government, in the form of a settlement every three years, which currently amounts to £20 million.
And while Cllr Holder admits the roads aren't perfect, that amount isn't enough to see a rapid change in the quality of all roads across Wiltshire.
He told us the council has been working hard to ensure the roads are in good condition, saying he knows the road network is critical to people living in the county, businesses and visitors.
"We have committed to having vibrant, well connected communities with an efficient and effective transport network and clearly parts of that ishaving roads that are safe and reliable to drive on.
"We don't shy away from the fact that there has been some problems with the network over the last six months in particular with the weather, but we are committed to get onto the front foot and fix as many of these as we can," he said.
Public involvement crucial
Cllr Holder described tackling the state of the roads as something of a 'two-way street' between the local authority and the public.
He said there are many emails and messages into the council via the MyWilts app reporting road defects, but earlier this year the council decided to visit each of the 18 community areas in the county to explain more about what work was being done on the roads and how they are managed and maintained.
"We felt it was important to go out to our residents and tell them what we're doing rather than just coming in to us with people complaining and criticising what we're doing," Cllr Holder said.
He said the meetings had humanised the officers who make decisions about what is repaired and how a serious pothole is defined.
In recent weeks, the council has begun posting on social media about how many potholes were reported to them and how many fixed between certain dates.
Cllr Holder said: "The feedback that we've had from our residents is positive that we're doing more.
"There's understandably a demand to do even more than we have done, but we have to follow the processes that we've got and there are several different ways to improve the surface of the road to solve pothole issues and extend its life."
The options available to the council in extending a roads life including fully resurfacing it or simply filling the pothole in.
New equipment is helping speed up the process of fixing potholes, helping the workforce move away from older methods, although they can still be used in emergency situations.
Cllr Holder told us it's vital that we continue reporting issues with the roads for them to action.
"We rely upon the public to help us with our roads. It's a pretty big county to cover and there will be things that will deteriorate after the surveys been done, so the road users might help us pick things up that that we ordinarily wouldn't have picked up."