RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “This is sadly yet
more damning evidence that England's local roads are in
a truly dire state of repair.
“It's bad enough that historically the Government doesn't really
know just how bad our roads are. But it's absolutely staggering
that it doesn't know whether the money it gives to councils has
been used effectively. This has to change and we very much hope
the new Government acts fast to fix it.
“While dangerous potholes clearly need to be fixed,
we also feel more could be done with the
funds councils are already given. We believe it's
imperative they carry out more preventative maintenance
to stop potholes forming in the first place, rather than
simply patching over the problem. That, combined with
resurfacing roads that are beyond reasonable repair, is the first
step to seeing a marked improvement in our vitally important
local roads. Worryingly however, RAC analysis of government
data shows that 60% of councils in England didn't carry out any
preventative maintenance in the financial year 2022-2023.
“There's also no question that local authorities need more
money to help them plan long-term maintenance. For this
reason, we're keen to hear from the Government that it's
honouring its predecessor's commitment to give £8.3bn from the
cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 to local roads over the
next 11 years.”
