Pothole-filled roads are a ‘national disgrace’

deprived local councils from having the resources to carry out comprehensive planned maintenance,” said Howard Robinson, RSTA chief executive.

“Instead, we have inefficient patch-andmend of a never-ending pothole plague where hard-pressed councils take one step forward and two steps back.

“The cumulative impact of the potholes in your local area has significant national social and economic consequences that government would do well to take note of.”

Nationally, according to the 2017 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance, the lack of investment in road maintenance means that it would cost £12.06 billion and take 13 years to address the backlog of potholes in England and nine years in Wales.

Such is the extent of the problem that although last year local highway authorities repaired 1.7 million potholes – one every 19 seconds – the RAC reported that between January and March 2017 it dealt with a 63% increase in potholed-related breakdowns such as broken suspension springs, damaged shock absorbers or distorted wheels.

The national cost of these breakdowns is high, with the Tax Payers’ Alliance calculating that annually local authorities pay out over £8 million in compensation claims for road-surface related vehicle damage.

“It is not just the personal cost of potholes, it is also the cost to the national economy,” warns Robinson.

“At a time when, post-Brexit, the government wants to show that Britain is open for business, the very transport system that carries 97% of our traffic is well below the standard of our chief European competitors.”