Inflation is eating away at funding for local roads
Almost every journey in England begins and ends somewhere on 186,000 miles of local roads, be it on foot, by car, bus, bicycle, or other form of transport.
As a result, our local roads network requires constant maintenance and investment to keep up with the ever-increasing demands placed upon it.
This is not just from vehicles, but also from the impact of climate change – such as heavier rainfall, extreme temperatures, and coastal erosion – all of which can damage the road surface and infrastructure.
But the greatest challenge facing our roads right now is one we are all familiar with: inflation. Just like with other goods and services, the price of raw materials, labour, plant machinery and other essential costs have gone up, meaning councils’ highway budgets are having to be stretched even further to try to deliver to the same standards.
Last October, the Government made the decision to cancel the northern leg of HS2 and divert £8.3 billion of extra funding towards local roads across the country, to be spread out over the next 11 years.
It will go towards patching up potholes and fixing other defects that form the growing £14 billion local roads repair backlog.
The first £300 million of this extra money has been allocated to councils for this year and next, with no year-on-year commitment beyond this, meaning it is at clear risk from the spending decisions of a future or returning government.
The LGA is calling for longer-term funding certainty for councils’ overall highways maintenance grant, on a par with National Highways which receives five-year funding allocations for running our motorways and major A roads.
Guaranteeing this level of funding over a longer period would enable councils to take the strategic, preventative actions needed to ensure our roads stay in good condition for longer, reducing the need for costly short-term repairs.
Highways budgets also cover far more than just the road surface, ranging from bridges, tunnels and crash barriers to street lights, footpaths and cycle lanes, which would also benefit from longer-term planning and investment.
Pressures on these budgets are felt by all councils, both rural and urban, county and metropolitan, while our residents rightly expect that our roads and footways are kept in a safe and useable condition.
‘Prevention is better than cure’ is an adage that holds true for roads maintenance.
Regular preventative work, such as crack sealing, surface dressing, and timely repairs, can extend the lifespan of roads and prevent more extensive damage.
In the long run, these preventative measures are generally less expensive than major repairs or reconstruction and reactive pothole fixes.
By investing in proactive maintenance, we can save significant costs further down the line and ensure the longevity of our infrastructure.
However, as highways budgets are inadequate to make this type of long-term investment across the whole of the network, councils end up prioritising those roads and paths at greatest immediate risk.
Surface treatments, especially ahead of winter, can also be planned and implemented in advance to avoid potholes and other defects appearing in the first place. Quality would also improve, enabling investment in better materials that have a longer life span.
It would also gain the confidence of suppliers and contractors who will be able to better plan their resources and provide training opportunities for the long term, knowing there is likely to be a steady supply of work.
It is good the Government has recognised that local roads maintenance funding over recent years has not been sufficient. The initial extra £300 million for the next two years is helpful in addressing the inflationary impact on councils’ highways budgets, providing some much-needed clarity on what they can expect to receive in the short term.
“ ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is an adage that holds true for roads maintenance” for roads maintenance”
As evidenced by councils (see below), what is really needed is year-on-year long-term funding certainty, to invest in roads and other highways infrastructure including for walking and cycling.
This will save costs in the long run by keeping people moving, while tackling climate change and enabling better planning and prevention.
Cornwall Council
The funding required each year to maintain Cornwall’s roads in a good condition is growing. In 2022, the council spent £25 million on road repairs, proactive surface dressing and resurfacing.
In 2023/24, the council faced a shortfall in its budget to tackle these issues, so committed to investing additional capital maintenance monies (in addition to the welcome extra funding from Government) into its highways service, which went some way to addressing those issues.
Efficiencies and reductions in intervention frequency have been made over the years and the council is now effectively delivering a basic level of service for its routine maintenance of its highways. Longer term funding would provide stability, training opportunities and cost savings.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council
BCP Council manages 1,248 km of carriageways, 120 traffic signal junctions and 387,196 street lighting units. The council deals with about 10,000 repairs per year and manages between 400 and 1,200 reports a month.
Our roads are busier than ever before, leading to increasing costs in traffic management as well as works taking longer or having to be done overnight. An increase in parked cars has made making repairs, serving gullies and street cleansing harder.
The council has found that material costs such as tarmac, road markings and salt have gone up significantly. Short-term funding decisions have made work programming, recruitment and engagement with suppliers more challenging.
Salford City Council
Recruitment and retention of staff is a challenge, with fewer engineers and shortages in operational teams, such as HGV drivers and operatives. Salford has attempted to address this with a pay review.
Revenue budgets have generally remained static, which due to inflation effectively means there is less money to maintain the highway network.
New developments where roads have been adopted have increased the number of streets the council has to maintain within its existing budget.
There have also been sharp rises in the price of raw materials, such as steel used for road safety barriers and bitumen used for pothole repairs, pushing up costs for the council. Longer-term funding would help with planning works programmes better, including seeking better competitive rates from suppliers knowing there is long-term investment.
Lincolnshire County Council
Challenging ground conditions that are susceptible to drought damage affect about 30 per cent of Lincolnshire County Council’s 5,500-mile road network.
Skills shortages leave the council and maintenance industry struggling to match pay demands, creating an emerging skills gap in certain positions.
Construction costs have increased by a third over four years, while buying power has decreased.
The recent additional funding announced for the next two years, while helpful, is less than the inflation pressures and less than previous pothole funding.
The council has already allocated an additional £19 million of funding into keeping the roads maintained, which are unprecedented additions and cannot be repeated.
Five-year funding would improve value for money in service delivery, encourage long-term recruitment and better strategic decision-making.