A commitment to permanently fixing the UK’s pothole-ridden roads would help garner votes in the general election and aid the economy too.
The Pothole Partnership – comprising the AA, JCB, British Cycling, National Motorcyclists Council – is calling on all political parties to put potholes high on their manifesto commitments, highlighting that it would be one of the most popular policies with voters. Some 96% of drivers rated potholes as the most important transport issue in an AA poll.
The partnership also warns that pothole damage is affecting the economy, with damage to vehicles hitting a five-year high. It has been estimated that the pothole crisis is costing the English economy more than £14bn per year.
The research dossier shows the AA dealt with 631,852 pothole-related incidents in 2023; the highest for five years. Pothole damage to vehicles last year is estimated at almost half a billion pounds.
More than £16bn is now needed to fix the backlog of local road repairs in England and Wales – and over half of local roads have less than 15 years’ structural life left, according to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) report,
Then there’s the safety risks – with cyclists and motorcyclists most at danger of injury.
Whilst potholes can be a very expensive inconvenience for those on four wheels, they can be life-changing and even fatal for those on two wheels.
A campaign on potholes by Cycling Weekly in 2023 found that 118 bike riders were killed or seriously injured due to a defective road surface between 2017 and 2021, with six tragically losing their lives.
The Pothole Partnership has unveiled a five-point political plan to help tackle the issue. The coalition represents the interests of drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians and road repairers.
Its Partnership’s Pothole pledge – which is being sent to the main political parties today – calls for the following:
Permanent: Local authorities to limit the practice of temporary pothole repairs or patches and, where possible, every pothole or patch to be repaired permanently.
Precise: All local authorities / contractors to adhere to UK-wide repair and inspection standards, and report annually on the repairs undertaken.
Price: Government to demonstrate greater urgency by accelerating and increasing spending of the £8.3bn pothole funding for England in the first three years – with total clarity on the distribution to local authorities.
Provision: Central and local government to guarantee ringfencing of ALL road maintenance funding to help deliver innovations that enable permanent repairs.
Progress: Full transparency from local authorities on their roads repair backlog, categorised by potholes, patching works and road resurfacing.
The Pothole Partnership also stressed that it welcomed extra funding for maintenance, including the £8.3bn from HS2, but wanted it ring-fenced and expenditure increased in the early years and used more effectively.
Ben Rawding, general manager, JCB, said: “Tackling the national backlog of potholes properly will involve investment in innovation and new technologies to ensure permanent fixes, not temporary repairs. Britain’s motorists, motorcyclists and cyclists deserve nothing less.”
The Pothole Partnership call sits alongside broader work by the partnership to ensure that the interests of members and businesses are heard, understood and represented by parties and candidates ahead of polling day on 4 July 2024.
