HIGHWAYS

Record £14bn needed to fix pothole-ridden local roads

A record £14bn is now needed for local authorities to tackle the local roads maintenance backlog, according to an annual survey.

A record £14bn is now needed for local authorities to tackle the local roads maintenance backlog, according to an annual survey.

Published today by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), the survey reported that highway teams in England and Wales only received around two-thirds of what they needed to stop local roads from further deterioration during the 2022-23 financial year.

The survey found the gap between what councils received and what they said they would have needed to keep roads to their own target conditions was now £1.3bn – a 20% increase on last year's figure and the highest amount reported in nearly three decades.

It found the cost of fixing the maintenance backlog had reached a new high of £14.02bn – an increase of 11% on last year.

The survey also revealed that 49% – or more than 100,000 miles – of local roads were at risk of deteriorating to the point of needing to be rebuilt within the next 15 years without investment.

AIA chair, Rick Green, welcomed chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Budget announcement of an additional £200m one-off payment for local roads in England, but said it was not enough to make up the shortfall.

He said: ‘It represents around 20% of the average shortfall in English local authorities' annual budgets and will do little to improve overall structural conditions and stem further decline.'

The Local Government Association's transport spokesperson, David Renard, said it was 'alarming that, due to soaring inflation and historic funding cuts, councils' repair backlog has grown'.

HIGHWAYS

Government letting down families on social care, says Dilnot

By Lee Peart | 14 July 2025

Governments of all colours have underfunded means-tested social care provision by local government for 20 years, says economist Andrew Dilnot. Lee Peart repo...

HIGHWAYS

LGA calls for EHCP scale back amid potential backlash

By Emily Twinch | 10 July 2025

Local authorities have called for the scaling back of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) despite a backlash as the Government looks to reform the regime.

HIGHWAYS

Call for Government to fix 'broken' children's social care

By Ann McGauran | 10 July 2025

Urgent action is needed to fix a ‘broken’ children’s social care system and give all young people the future they deserve, the chair of the Commons Education...

HIGHWAYS

After the riots

By Martin Ford | 08 July 2025

A session at last week’s LGA conference in Liverpool heard insights from one place impacted by last summer’s rioting, with reflections on the key lessons lea...

Popular articles by William Eichler