21 March 2023 , 10:55
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Potholes around Britain will take an average of 11 years to repair, costing more than £14billion, a new survey has found.
The report found that local authority highway teams in England and Wales only received around two-thirds of the funds they needed to prevent further deterioration of our roads.
The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, published today by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), says the gap between what local authorities received and what they said they would have needed to keep roads to their own target conditions and prevent further decline is now £1.30billion - 20 per cent more than last year.
And the cost of fixing the backlog of carriageway repairs has reportedly risen by a further 11% to a new high of £14.02billion - the equivalent of £68,000 per mile of local road in England and Wales.
According to the survey, one pothole is filled every 22 seconds (Getty Images/iStockphoto)AIA said repairs would take an average of 11 years to complete, as Chair Rick Green explained: "Highway engineers can only do so much with the resources they are given and should be applauded for the steps they take to keep roads safe.
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"Potholes and the condition of our local roads remain key issues for the public and the Chancellor went someway to recognising this in his Spring Budget.
"But the additional £200m one-off payment for local roads in England, while welcome, is just not enough. It represents around 20% of the average shortfall in English local authorities’ annual budgets and will do little to improve overall structural conditions and stem further decline."
This year's AIA survey, based on responses from 75 per cent of local authorities in England and Wales, said half of local roads are reported to be in good structural condition, but more than 100,000 miles could deteriorate to the point of needing to be rebuilt within the next 15 tears without appropriate maintenance measures.
It added that 18 per cent of the network - almost 37,000 miles - has less than five years' structural life remaining.
According to the survey, one pothole is filled every 22 seconds, with AIA calling for a long-term funding plan to "enhance the resilience" of local roads.
Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at RAC, said: "These findings make for terrible reading and will come as no surprise to anyone who is forced to endure our pothole-plagued roads on a daily basis.
"It's incredible that council funding is now so inadequate that almost one-in-five roads have under five years’ structural life left. This means the gap between the money councils have and what they need is widening – with road users ultimately left suffering."
(Getty Images)Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at AA, added: "Years of sticking plaster solutions haven't solved the problem, so it's now time for serious investment and serious action."
Jonathan White, Legal and Compliance director for National Accident Helpline, said: "This latest report shows the extent of the pothole crisis in the UK. The announcement of extra funding for local road maintenance in the Budget last week is welcome, but unlikely to resolve Britain’s pothole pandemic.
"Having a robust personal injury claims process in place also encourages highways authorities to take their responsibilities seriously to maintain roads.
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"Tens of thousands of people are injured each year by potholes and other road defects. Many people suffer significant injuries as a result of pothole accidents as pedestrians or cyclists, including brain and spinal injuries in the most serious cases.
"The most common injuries tend to be ligament damages to ankles and knees and sprains and fractures to wrists."
In January, a former councillor fed up with the number of potholes near his home decided to make a golf course out of them.
Stephen Aylen, 66, said there are 121 potholes and dent in the road near where he lives in Essex.
A former engineer, Stephen has been trying to get Southend Council to repair the road in Woodside in the town of Leigh-on-Sea, but said his efforts so far have been "fruitless."
Stephen has decided to make light of the situation and draw attention to it by getting out his golf clubs and enjoying a "spot of golf".
He said: "It was a nice morning for a spot of golf, and why travel to a course when I have so many holes right outside my house.
"It's not only this road, the whole area is littered with potholes and no matter what it seems the council refuses to fix them."