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Huge pothole repair backlog for English councils
Date: 06 January 2015 | Author: Daniel Puddicombe
The Government's £6 billion fund to tackle potholes between 2015 and 2021 may not be enough to tackle the problem, according to the RAC.
A Freedom of Information request to local councils by the Press Association uncovered backlogs of up to £100 million to repair roads, while others have huge numbers of potholes to repair.
The FoI information showed that the biggest backlog repairs are in Leeds (between £90 and £100 million), Gloucestershire (£86m), Oldham (£60m), Rochdale (£58m), Islington (£79m) and Swindon (£40m).
The PA claimed Northumberland council has 6600 potholes to repair, while Plymouth county council has 3200 potholes to cover over and Derbyshire council has 1550 potholes to correct.
"We question whether this [the £6bn fund] really goes far enough. Recent estimates by the Asphalt Industry Alliance suggest a one-off investment of £12 billion is needed in England to deal with the backlog in road maintenance, the majority of which is associated with those roads for which local authorities are responsible," said David Bizley, RAC chief engineer.
