£50M POTHOLE BILL SCANDAL

Fury as SNP breaks promise on Beast from the East repairs

TENS of millions of pounds worth of potholes created by the ‘Beast from the East’ will not be repaired because of a major funding crisis.

Scotland’s roads have been plagued by the craters since the nation endured its most severe winter weather in years.

It is estimated it will cost £50million to repair the damage caused over the past few months.

But SNP ministers have offered local authorities only £10million to tackle the problem – despite previously promising to help deal with ‘unforeseen costs resulting from the recent heavy snowfalls’.

Several councils had already spent their entire winter maintenance budget by January – before the worst of the weather hit – and have struggled to find cash to deal with the ‘terrible’ state of roads.

Some local authorities are furious at the Scottish Government for providing only enough emergency money to deal with what is estimated to be a fifth of the repairs.

Perth and Kinross Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Barrett, who sits on council umbrella group Cosla, said: ‘A month ago [Finance Secretary] Derek Mackay promised to “help communities remain resilient and councils deal with any immediate and unforeseen costs resulting from the recent heavy snowfalls and ongoing cold weather”.

‘He is going back on his word. In Perth and

Kinross alone we have been hit by more than £2million of extra winter maintenance costs.

‘We will end up with just a few hundred thousand pounds because of the Scottish Government’s sleight of hand.

‘Unless the Government agrees to keep its promise, the state of our roads will continue to get worse and worse.’

Cosla publicly welcomed the £10million of funding, announced on Friday, but it is understood some members are furious about the ‘paltry’ sum.

Cosla resources spokesman Gail Macgregor said: ‘While councils budget for the impacts of winter weather, the Beast from the East was unexpected and led to a significant financial strain.

‘We are pleased the Scottish Government has recognised the impact on councils with this additional funding. However, the financial toll will continue to be felt for some time.’

Previous research has suggested that, before the big freeze, there was already a repair backlog of more than 150,000 potholes on Scotland’s roads, with angry drivers reporting an average of 430 a day.

The problem is worse since the Beast from the East, with wider and deeper craters opening up – increasing the risk of accidents and costly damage to vehicles.

The cold snap led to an extra £50million of repairs, council estimates suggest.

Figures show that despite the number of pothole complaints remaining in six figures for four years running, the amount of compensation paid annually to drivers fell from a peak of £248,500 in 2015 to £226,200 the following year.

Overall, councils have paid £757,000 in compensation to Scotland’s drivers since 2014. Data last year showed Scotland has the most damaged roads in Britain, with a combined pothole depth of 3.7 miles.

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motoring, said Scotland’s roads were in a ‘terrible’ state.

Last month, ministers announced they were triggering the ‘Bellwin Scheme’, which allows councils to apply for additional funding to deal with the financial burden of large-scale emergencies.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: ‘Derek Mackay has ditched the Bellwin formula activated only a month ago in response to the Beast from the East. Instead he’s offering a measly £10million when councils need five times as much.

‘Communities will suffer and our ruined roads will remain full of holes so long as the SNP fail to deliver on their promises.

‘People will be furious that they have to continue to endure large potholes.’

The Scottish Government said: ‘This additional £10million is being made directly available to local authorities immediately so they do not have to submit formal Bellwin claims and await approval. No applications have been received for [Bellwin Scheme] funding.

‘Cosla welcomed the funding, commenting that they are pleased the Government has recognised the impact on councils.’

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said it hoped the £10million funding ‘signals a change in attitude from Government regarding the importance of local infrastructure’.

Social policy convenor Andy Willox said: ‘FSB has repeatedly warned that bad local roads make it difficult to do business in many parts of Scotland.’

‘Communities will suffer’

MOST motorists cannot have failed to notice that the state of Scotland’s roads has deteriorated substantially in recent months.

Whether in busy town centre streets, motorways or smaller rural routes, avoiding potholes has become an additional dangerous challenge for drivers.

As early as January, several councils had reported that they had already spent their roads maintenance budget for the entire financial year. Their budget management leaves a lot to be desired.

Of course, it is difficult to plan for weather as severe as was seen at the beginning of last month when the Beast from the East battered Scotland, but extreme cold snaps long into March should not come as much of a surprise.

For the sake of the safety of motorists, it is essential that the backlog of repairs is now tackled, and that requires more cash. The Scottish Government announced £10million of new funding but representatives of council umbrella body Cosla estimate an additional £40million would be needed to tackle the damage caused by the weather. Without it, Cosla claims the potholes will not be filled.

That is not good enough. This month, every single council tax payer in Scotland will see their bill rise by 3 per cent, which raises an extra £77million for councils.

At the same time, everyone earning more than £33,000 a year will see their income tax bill soar this month, adding an extra £219million into Government coffers.

When nearly £300million extra is being raised from the raid on the hard-earned income of Scottish families, they have every right to expect the most basic public services will be paid for.

Yet many are seeing poorer services despite rising bills. It is not fair that they will also face vehicle repair bills or longdrawn-out processes attempting to secure compensation from councils because of the negligence of the roads authorities.

The Scottish Government must ensure that the terrible state of Scotland’s roads is addressed immediately. People enduring tax rises have every right to expect something in return for their money.