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More than two million potholes a year could be left unrepaired on UK roads even after extra funding from HM Treasury, according to new research by Citroën UK.
In the 2020 Budget, announced on 11th March, chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed a £500 million bonus each year for the next five years to repair potholes across the UK. The Government has pledged to spend £1.5 billion in 2020-2021 on road repairs across the country, with the aim of repairing 50 million potholes in the next five years.
However according to an analysis of the 2019 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey, which is based on feedback from local authorities across England and Wales, the measures “may not be enough”.
With a £657 million shortfall in annual funding, the new Budget measures could still leave more than two million potholes a year in need of repairs, even after the extra £500 million is added to local council funding across the country, says Citroën UK.
Last year, research collated by JMW Solicitors revealed the “alarming extent” of the UK’s pothole problem, with London’s pothole count exceeding 49,000, an increase of 33% in 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.
