Council finds it hard to pay for pothole repairs

HAMPSHIRE County Council has said it will struggle to fix the county’s roads as it has not received enough government funding to do so.

The local authority has warned the maintenance services will find it hard to pay for much needed repairs and, as a result, many planned improvement works will not go ahead.

In 2021/22, the government has allocated £38.8 million of capital funding for highways maintenance. According to the county council, this is 24% less than what was provided for the current financial year.

Cllr Rob Humby, deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and environment, has said the funding gap for maintaining roads is around £3m to £5m each year and the road network is starting to decline.

He said: “We know the impact good road maintenance has on people’s quality of life and the part it plays in supporting the local economy, which is why we have established our Operation Resilience programme, providing additional funding to improve the worst affected parts of the network.

“But when the government cuts the national funding provided to councils for road maintenance, the benefit of our local investment is diminished.”

Cllr Humby added the pandemic has put “significant” pressure on finances. Although he said decisions have been “rightly” made to help the most vulnerable, it does mean services, like highways, miss out.

He added: “It is imperative the government provides adequate investment to help us slow down the decline of the local road network.

“Local Highway networks are the essential infrastructure that supports local economies and while government funding for new transport ideas is welcome, it is essential that the importance of maintaining the local road network – which supports over 90% of journeys in Hampshire – is properly recognised. As we plot a path to economic recovery from the pandemic, this is ever more urgent.”

The county council invests an additional £10m each year in Operation Resilience and, for this financial year, an extra £3m of investment has been agreed to ensure more improvements can be made.