FILL THESE WRETCHED POTHOLES!
£100m emergency fund needed to tackle Scotland’s worsening roads crisis as MSPs tell SNP ministers:
THE SNP must find £100million to tackle Scotland’s pothole crisis, MSPs demanded last night.
They said a huge roads emergency fund was needed to deal with the soaring number of potholes putting motorists’ lives at risk every day.
Scottish Tory transport spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘Chronic SNP inaction and lack of investment, after a decade in power, has caused a totally avoidable problem.
‘They must stop neglecting Scotland’s roads and ignoring Scotland’s road users. It’s time to fix those wretched potholes that plague every motorist.’
The Conservatives will demand the extra funding during a debate on Scotland’s roads crisis at Holyrood today.
Last night, motoring groups welcomed the move – and urged the SNP to back a
‘long-term plan’ to improve the country’s roads.
Under the Tory proposals, the extra £100million would be provided to councils over the next three years to help tackle a mounting backlog of repairs.
It is estimated one in three of Scotland’s busiest roads are in an unsatisfactory state. More than 150,000 potholes need to be filled.
The situation was made worse during the winter as the ‘Beast from the East’ caused thousands of potholes.
Last year, Scotland’s councils had to pay more than £225,000 following claims from motorists for damage to cars.
Mr Greene said: ‘The SNP has consistently neglected Scotland’s roads and the results are painfully obvious for all to see. We all rely on our roads but they are now plagued with potholes and poor surfaces, which is not just damaging cars but endangering cyclists and motorcyclists.
‘Beyond our concerns for public safety, this systematic under-invest-
‘SNP has neglected Scotland’s roads’
ment is slowing our economy and costing councils a fortune in compensation.
‘The Tories recognise the importance of a well-maintained road infrastructure and we are willing to invest in it with this new national fund. It’s the right thing to do to turn around the state of our roads.
‘It is estimated it would take £50million to repair the damage caused over the winter.’
It costs an average of £52 to repair each pothole – meaning the new funding proposed by the Tories could help to repair nearly two million.
Recent research suggested 30 per cent of A-roads in Scotland are classed as red or amber, meaning they are in need of inspection or requiring work.
The Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) has warned funding cuts mean it is ‘not possible’ to fix our potholed roads.
It also said it would take £1.7billion to remove all existing defects. So far, the SNP has only offered local authorities an extra £10million to tackle the backlog. Over the past seven years, real-terms funding to maintain Scotland’s roads has fallen from £691million in 2010-11 to £554million last year.
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton will lead the members’ debate today. The motion says: ‘The recent severe weather has now made repair almost impossible, meaning Scotland’s roads are now facing a crisis.’
Neil Greig, of IAM Road-Smart, said: ‘It has been a really bad winter and we do need to have a more long-term view of funding because annual extra funding, while welcome, doesn’t help in the longer term. The proposal suggested by the Tories – providing funding for the lifetime of this parliament – is starting to get towards a long-term plan and we welcome that.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The £10.7billion local government finance settlement in 2018-19 will provide a realterms boost in both revenue and capital funding.
‘While local authority budget setting is the responsibility of individual authorities, the total funding they have available will increase by almost £342million in 2018-19.’