A £1.6 billion investment in fixing potholes and repairing roads has been announced by the UK Government.
The government said the investment was an increase of nearly 50% on local road maintenance funding from last year, and would be enough to fix the equivalent of over seven million extra potholes in 2025/26.
It said the announcement came as figures from the RAC showed that drivers encountered an average of six potholes per mile in England and Wales.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “This is the biggest one-off road maintenance funding settlement councils in England have ever been given, so we have high hopes it’s the turning point that ends the degradation of our roads and finally delivers fit-for-purpose, smooth surfaces for drivers and all other road users.
“What’s particularly positive is that this announcement is not just about giving councils money to fix dangerous potholes, it comes with the important caveat of using the money wisely by carrying out preventative maintenance to stop more potholes appearing in the future.
“It’s also good to see the government proactively encouraging drivers to report potholes, requiring councils to collect the right data to capture the true state of their road networks and incentivizing authorities that use the money to good effect.”
AA president Edmund King said: “We urge councils to focus on permanent and innovative repairs rather than adopting a ‘patch and run’ approach.
“Better maintenance of the road network is the number one concern of drivers as damage costs a fortune and potholes can be fatal for those on two wheels.”
