Starmer urges councils to ‘get on with the job’ of fixing potholes on ‘broken roads’ as he announces £1.6bn investment
Sir Keir Starmer has called on councils to “get on with the job” of fixing Britain’s pothole-ridden roads as he announced a £1.6billion investment in local road maintenance.
The Prime Minister said damaged roads “can risk lives and cost families hundreds if not thousands of pounds on repairs”.
Through the party’s Plan for Change, Starmer pledged to “put more money back into the pockets of hardworking people and improve living standards”.
The funding represents a £500million increase compared to the previous year and is estimated to be enough to repair around seven million potholes.
The Department for Transport has detailed how the funding will be distributed across England in the next financial year.
More than £327m will go to the North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber regions.
The Midlands will receive over £372m, while the East of England has been allocated more than £244m.
Local authorities in the South East and London will get more than £378m. The South West will receive over £300m for road maintenance.
The funding will allow councils to fill potholes, resurface roads, improve pavements and repair bridges.
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The DfT said it will ensure highway authorities “spend the money wisely” and deliver “proactive maintenance” before potholes form.
A quarter of the increased funding will be held back until authorities have “shown that they are delivering”.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed confidence the “really significant investment” will improve road conditions.
“We will be asking councils to report back to us about how they spent that money,” she said.
“We’ve had a decade of underinvestment and a decade of decline really, so it’s imperative that we take action.”
RAC figures reveal drivers encounter an average of six potholes per mile on roads in England and Wales.
The cost per incident of pothole damage to vehicles is around £500, according to RAC data. The AA found that tackling the pothole issue is a priority for 96 per cent of motorists.
The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £16.3 billion.
Councils already spend considerably more on maintaining their highways than what they receive from central government.
AA president Edmund King described the funding as a “significant cash injection”, urging councils to “focus on permanent and innovative repairs rather than adopting a patch and run approach”.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams called it “the biggest one-off road maintenance funding settlement councils in England have ever been given.”