More than 9.5 million potholes could be repaired or prevented by councils with the funding lost from local road maintenance budgets this year, the LGA has warned.
Overall capital funding allocated to councils by the Department for Transport for local road maintenance in 2021/22 is £1.39 billion – a reduction of £400 million (22 per cent) from the previous year.
There is currently a £10 billion backlog of local road repairs. The LGA says that the Government should use the Spending Review to plug this year’s £400 million gap and commit an additional £500 million per year to councils for road repairs.
Fixing roads is a top priority for councils, with a pothole repaired every 19 seconds despite the COVID-19 pandemic requiring teams to work hard to introduce temporary road measures.
In recent years, the Government has supported local roads maintenance, including a pothole repair fund, recognising the importance of resilient and well-maintained highways infrastructure to all road users and businesses.
However, the cost of construction has increased significantly, reflecting global supply problems. Future capital allocations need to take into account the significant inflation rates in highways construction and maintenance costs.
Cllr David Renard, LGA Transport Spokesperson, said: “The ability of councils to improve local transport connectivity and infrastructure, including upgrades to local bus, road and cycle infrastructure, is critical to government ambitions to level up the country, reduce carbon emissions from transport, and support our long-term economic recovery from the pandemic.
“With long-term and consistent investment in local road maintenance in the Spending Review, councils can 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.”