A group of MPs is calling on the Government to restore ring-fencing and multi-year settlements for local road maintenance.
In a new report, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Better Roads says one of its aims is to “promote the case for properly maintained local roads”.
The report reviews the Pothole Action Fund, suggesting the policy contributed to ‘marked improvements’ in the conditions of local roads when it was in place from 2015-2021.
The fund, a six-year commitment allocated to English local authorities, could be used by highway teams to secure funding for preventative maintenance and resurfacing works as well as pothole repairs.
Analysis referenced in the report, drawn from the Alliance’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, indicates that the ring-fencing led to an increased proportion of England’s local network being classed as in ‘good condition’, with 12,377 miles – 7% – of local roads moving into this category over the six years the fund was available.
Since 2021, when the pothole action fund was incorporated into councils’ general block highway funding from the DfT, the proportion of roads classed as ‘good’ has fallen by 5%, or 8,811 miles of roads.
The APPG’s report also highlights that the average shortfall in authorities’ highway maintenance budgets has increased by 82% since the end of ring-fenced funding.
Sir Christopher Chope MP, chairman of the APPG for Better Roads, said: “One of the aims of this APPG is to promote the case for properly maintained local roads to provide a more resilient and carbon efficient network.
“This is why we are sharing the findings of the review into the Pothole Action Fund to underpin our call for a return to targeted, sustained and ringfenced local road maintenance funding.”
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