‘£195m works required to repair roads’

Nearly four in 10 Highland roads need to be repaired and bringing them all up to scratch would cost an eye-watering £195 million, it has been revealed.

New data from the Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey has shown that Highland Council has plummeted down the national league table.

In 2011 it was ranked 11th out of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. Now it has dropped to 26.

The council needs to invest £26m each year just to keep its roads at a “steady state”.

However, the last five years of capital investment has fallen well short of that figure, at £8.2m in 2018-19, £6.2m in 2019-20 and £7.2m the past three years.

In 2020, the council injected an extra £20m into its roads, but a report prepared for the council’s economy and infrastructure committee yesterday stated that this is not enough.

Potholed roads are an ongoing bone of contention in areas besides the Highlands, and local authorities across Scotland struggle to maintain roads, schools and housing against escalating welfare and social services demands.

However, the north appears to be falling short of its neighbours.

The Statutory Performance Indicator (SPI) provides the percentage of roads in need of maintenance treatment.

It’s calculated by adding up the roads rated “red” and “amber” following inspections.

In Scotland, the average SPI is 35.5%. The best performing local authority only needed repairs to 23.7% of its roads while the worst needed 54.2%.

In that context, Highland’s 39% score is far from the worst.

However, the national picture has been one of incremental improvement.

By contrast, the report to Highland councillors warned that “without further and sustained funding the condition of the road network will continue to deteriorate and as such our ranking among the other Scottish local authorities may drop further”.

The figures back this up. Ten years ago, Highland Council was 11th in Scotland, with only 29.3% of its roads needing repair. Highland spends £2,244 per km on its roads – 32% of the average spent per km by other councils.

Years of under-funding have led to the deterioration, and the council acknowledges that it has been lucky with the weather, after four relatively mild winters.

However, more money is needed.

Road conditions appear to be worse in rural areas, fuelling an old argument about how they are prioritised for repair.

In general, roads with higher traffic attract more frequent maintenance than remote rural routes. In Highland, 41% of rural roads require repairs, against 29% of roads in urban areas.

The methodology of the Scottish Roads Maintenance Condition Survey may also overlook some rural examples.

The survey examines 100% of A-class roads and 50% of B and C roads. However, only 10% of unclassified roads are inspected annually.

The real challenge will present itself at budget time next year.

FIGURES: Highland Council has plummeted in the road repair table in Scotland.