Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget pledge to tackle the UK’s chronic pothole problem is not enough, according to a leading campaigner on the issue.
In his tranche of economic announcements, the Chancellor said £500 million allocated to dealing with potholes would be increased by a further £200 million next year to help communities “tackle this problem”.
The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £12.6 billion.
Speaking on GB News, campaigner Mr Pothole says badly maintained roads across the UK are costing lives.
Mr Pothole says the Government needs to spend more regularly to tackle Britain's pothole problem
GB News
He told Patrick Christys: “It’s fairly easy. You’re actually wasting money repairing potholes. You should be resurfacing your roads, putting in £3 billion pounds a year, every year.
“Other countries do this with a long term plan, like in Japan for example.
“In 10 years time, 95 per cent of potholes would be gone!”
Mr Pothole says the measures introduced by Jeremy Hunt are not enough to tackle Britain’s issue.
He said on GB News: “It’s welcome news because it’s £200 million that wasn’t going to come in the first place.
“It’s only half of what they cut from the road maintenance budget in the last year, so we’re not actually any better off.
“To put it in context, there’s a £12 billion backlog in road maintanence in this country, and next week when the report comes out, I suspect it will be even higher.
“To be honest, it’s like peeing in the sea.”
The cost of fixing potholes across England and Wales is estimated at £12.6 billion.PARecent analysis by the Local Government Association showed Government funding for maintaining England’s motorways and major A roads was 31 times higher per mile than for repairing local roads last year.
Delivering his Budget speech, Hunt said the “wet then cold winter” resulted in him receiving “strong representations” from MPs and councillors about “the curse of potholes”.
Potholes are often formed when water that has entered cracks in the road surface freezes and expands.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “There won’t be a road user in the country who doesn’t dodge a pothole on a daily basis, so any extra money to help fill them in is welcome.
Recent analysis by the Local Government Association showed Government funding for maintaining England’s motorways and major A roads was 31 times higher per mile than for repairing local roads last year.
Delivering his Budget speech, Hunt said the “wet then cold winter” resulted in him receiving “strong representations” from MPs and councillors about “the curse of potholes”.
Potholes are often formed when water that has entered cracks in the road surface freezes and expands.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “There won’t be a road user in the country who doesn’t dodge a pothole on a daily basis, so any extra money to help fill them in is welcome.
“However, it is worth remembering there are 190,000 miles of road in England alone so the additional £200 million is going to be thinly spread.
“We mustn’t forget that road maintenance extends beyond the road surface to things like bridges.
“Councils also need the money to shore up the thousands of sub-standard crossings our research has shown are out there.”