Extra £200 MILLION needed to fix North West's potholes
New research suggests that in just one year, 13 million cars across the UK have been damaged by potholes
It could cost an extra 200 million pounds to rid the North West's roads of potholes according to new research.
The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (Alarm) survey found councils in England and Wales said they only received two-thirds of what they needed during the current financial year to stop local roads from further deteriorating
Across the north-west councils reported a £207 million gap between what they received and what they said they would have needed to keep roads to their target conditions.
The survey also found the cost of fixing the backlog of carriageway repairs is £1.82 billion – the equivalent of more than £80,000 per mile of road in the North West – and would take an average of 11 years to complete.
The Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), which commissioned the research, said this is because budgets have not kept pace with cost increases caused by inflation.
"What's needed is a longer-term funding horizon from central Government"
Rick Green, who chairs the AIA, said: "Highway engineers can only do so much with the resources they are given and should be applauded for the steps they take to keep roads safe.
"We all appreciate that there are difficult choices to make with demands and pressures on the public purse coming from every area, but not investing in local road maintenance only leads to worsening conditions, which impact on other locally provided public services, a rising bill to fix the problem and more road user complaints.
"To really improve conditions and create a safe, resilient and sustainable network, what's needed is a longer-term funding horizon from central Government with more highway budget ring-fencing.
"This would help local authority engineers to plan effectively and implement more efficient works to protect and enhance the resilience of the local road network."
13 million cars damaged in one year
Meanwhile, research by Kwik Fit suggests over the last twelve months, pothole damage has forced nearly 2.7 million cars off the road.
The report found that in the year to March 2023, 13.1 million drivers suffered damage to their car after hitting a pothole, and of these, one in five had to do without their vehicle for more than a week while it was undergoing repairs.
57% of British drivers say they have hit at least one pothole a week over the last twelve months, with the impact causing damage to over 13 million cars. The average repair bill faced by each driver was £127, resulting in a total cost to the nation’s motorists of £1.7bn
In last week's budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged an extra £200 million next year for pothole repairs.