Responding to separate reports out on the condition of local
roads from the AA, RAC and Cycling UK, Cllr Martin Tett, the
Local Government Association’s Transport spokesman, said:
“Councils are fixing a pothole every 19 seconds despite funding
pressures. They want to do more but are trapped in an endless
cycle of patching up our deteriorating network. It would already
take £12 billion and more than a decade for councils to clear the
current local roads repair backlog.
“Only long-term and consistent investment in local road
maintenance can allow councils to embark on the widespread
improvement of our roads that is desperately needed, to the
benefit of all road users up and down the country, including
cyclists.
“It is wrong that funding for local roads is miles behind that of
the strategic road network. Very few journeys begin and end on a
motorway or trunk road yet government funding on the strategic
road network is 52 times higher than for local roads. Spending
more on improving our national roads will only serve to speed
vehicles up between increased delays and congestion on local
roads.
“The LGA has been calling on the Government to reinvest 2 pence
per litre of existing fuel duty into local road maintenance which
would generate £1 billion a year for councils to spend on
improving roads and filling potholes.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
- In 2000, there were 24.2 million licensed cars in Great
Britain, compared to 31.1 million in 2017, a rise of 6.9 million.
Last year the LGA published a report – ‘A country in a jam:
tackling congestion in our towns and cities’ – which
revealed the extent of the country’s congestion crisis.
- Local roads, including A roads, that are maintained by
Councils cover 184,108 miles compared to just 4433 miles on the
Strategic Road Network (STN), which covers motorways
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/road-lengths-in-great-britain-2016
- The Government will invest £21,606.83 per mile, compared to
£1,123,382.60 per mile for maintenance of the strategic roads
network (STN) over the five year period to 2020
