LGA responds to £8.3bn roads funding announcement

Responding to the Government’s announcement of £8.3 billion over the next 11 years to improve local roads, Cllr Darren Rodwell, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said:

“Councils want to invest in cost-effective and resilient resurfacing, rather than retrospectively dealing with potholes and this funding is a significant boost towards improving more of the 186,000 miles of England’s local roads.

“The LGA has consistently called for longer-term funding to tackle our estimated £14 billion local roads repair backlog. This latest announcement will provide some much-needed clarity for councils on what they can expect to receive in the short term, so they can plan ahead and reinstate repairs that had been impacted by inflation. We await to see the final details of the full allocation. It is vital that this plan, together with existing funding, is now ‘locked-in’ by the Chancellor at the Autumn Statement.

“Longer-term, the Government should award council Highways Departments with five yearly funding allocations to give more certainty, bringing councils on a par with National Highways so they can develop resurfacing programmes and other highways improvements, tackling the scourge of potholes.”