Pothole plague that’ll cost £1.7 billion to f ix

After ‘years of neglect’ and penny-pinching by SNP, true appalling state of our crumbling roads revealed

THE repair bill for fixing Scotland’s pothole-scarred streets is now an eye-watering £1.7 billion.

Drivers are having to swerve to avoid holes, take alternative routes and file insurance claims for damage caused by poorly maintained roads. The new figure for repairs was uncovered through Freedom of Information requests by Scottish Labour.

Last night, the party accused the Scottish Government of ‘years of neglect’. The true cost could be even higher as six of the 32 councils failed to provide figures.

The biggest bill is in Dumfries and Galloway, where fixing the backlog would cost £217 million.

The next highest cost is in the Highland Council area, where a £195 million repair job is needed. MSP Neil Bibby, Scottish Labour transport spokesman, said: ‘These astonishing figures lay bare the dire state of disrepair Scotland’s roads are in after years of neglect under the SNP.

‘They have cut funding to the bone, leaving roads to crumble and taxpayers to pick up the bill.

‘Our pothole-ridden roads are a daily reminder of how badly the SNP have let down communities all around us. Now the Greens and the SNP have teamed up to hit councils with another year of brutal cuts, things are only set to get worse.’

Planned roadworks were put on hold during the pandemic but one motoring group said drivers’ frustrations stretch back long before Covid.

Neil Greig, director of policy for the drivers’ group IAM Roadsmart, said:

‘With brutal cuts, things are only set to get worse’

‘Potholes are still the number one concern for drivers, and that has not changed for a number of years.

‘Despite some saying a lot of money is being spent on this, it does not seem to have changed opinions.

‘Our recent survey found 90 per cent of drivers have had some potholerelated issue in the last year, whether that is swerving to avoid one, taking a different route, or having to make a claim.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Maintenance of the local road network is the responsibility of local authorities, and it is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.’