Chesterfield Driving instructor hopes five-point plan solves national 'pothole crisis'
The plan calls on permanent pothole repairs to be made on our roads
A driving instructor from Chesterfield believes a new plan calling for better repairs on our roads can only be a step in the right direction.
Today the Pothole Partnership, formed by the AA, the National Motorcyclists Council, Cycling UK and JCB, has launched a five-point plan calling on local authorities, the government and road repair contractors to put in permanent rather than temporary pothole repairs.
The Partnership also wants more clarity on the government's £8.3 billion investment scheme in repairing local roads, and more transparency on how local authorities will spend this funding.
Chris Marples - a driving instructor from Chesterfield - feels the problem is getting worse:
"Well, potholes just recently have been worse than ever.
"We've had a lot of rain recently, and before that we had some very cold weather.
"Through experience, I just know that both those elements have a big impact on the roads if they're already weak and haven't been repaired properly.
"If you look around an industrial estate for example, you'll see more potholes because they take heavier vehicles.
"So, that's going to transfer onto the main roads more and more, as we see an increase in the roll out of electric vehicles, because electric vehicles weigh a lot more than most petrol or diesel vehicles.
"The issue is that sometimes potholes are just patched up, and they're patched up in places where the roads could really benefit from an overall re-surface.
"Potholes are always going to appear, it's always going to be a problem, but the local authorities need more resources to tackle them.
"I think potholes are just appearing faster than what local authorities across the country can cope with, so the entire issue does need looking at."
Five-point plan to fix potholes 'has to be good'
In November, transport secretary Mark Harper said "people will see improvement straight away" once councils start to receive the money from the £8.3bn investment.
"That money is enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of roads, so people will see a step change in the quality of local roads," he said at the time.
However, Mr Harper said it was up to local authorities on how they spend maintenance funding, such as not just focussing on fixing potholes.