Roads across Wokingham Borough were among the best maintained in the country in the last year, according to data published by the Department for Transport.
The annual road conditions statistics, published in November each year, provide a range of data such as how much of the road network has had maintenance work on it and how much of it should be considered for maintenance work.
The statistics show that Wokingham Borough Council carried out maintenance on around 9% of its A roads, compared with an average of around 5% nationally – that’s almost double the national average.
For non-A roads, the council did maintenance work on 4.5% of its roads, compared with an average of around 2.5% nationally, which is again almost double the national average.
Data is available for 119 local authorities for A roads and 118 local authorities for non-A roads, putting the borough well inside the top 20 for maintenance work carried out on the council’s road network.
The statistics showed that roads in the borough are in better shape than the national average, with 3% of its A roads and motorways needing maintenance work compared with 4% nationally, and 4% of B and C class roads length compared with 6% nationally.
Cllr Paul Fishwick, executive member for active travel, transport and highways, said: “We know residents sometimes get frustrated with our roads, and often hear they are the worst in the country, however the statistics show that this is far from true.
“We always seek to do more to improve areas around the borough, including our roads, however chronic underfunding to councils for highway repairs impacts this.
“It is estimated that there is a road repair backlog of around £14 billion nationally.
“Despite the lack of funding, as a borough we are still well above the national average in the maintenance work we’ve done over the last year, and that our network is in better shape than national average.
“The government has promised additional funding to local authorities, but this is only going to take us so far.
“We will continue to lobby the government, and thank you to the around 1,200 people who have supported us in our Fairer Funding Deal campaign so far.”
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, leader of the Conservative Group at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “The Liberal Democrats have chosen to spend less in real-terms than the Conservatives did when they were in power.
“In January the Liberal Democrats admitted reducing spending on fixing potholes in their first year running the Council in their own Revenue Monitoring report.
“Since then, there has been a noticeable decline in the quality of road surfaces, and lifespan of the repairs that are done across the Borough.
“It is only three weeks since the Government announced £13 million of additional funding for road repairs over the next 11 years. T
“his is more than neighbouring boroughs Reading, Windsor and Maidenhead, Bracknell and Slough will receive.
“But, however much the Government gave Wokingham, the Liberal Democrats will always complain it’s not enough, because that is their answer to everything: blaming the government for their own inadequacies.”
Cllr Andy Croy, the leader of the Labour group on Wokingham Borough Council, said: “These figures will jar with the lived experience of cyclists and motorists alike as potholes multiply, with some left to get bigger and bigger over many months.
“This might be because the statistics relate to April 2022 until March 2023 – meaning they are interesting from an historical perspective.
“Even at this early stage of the winter, there seems to have been a marked deterioration in road conditions, coupled with shoddy repair jobs.
“It’s a shame the government does not survey pavements.
“Many older residents or those pushing children in prams are in despair over the state of pavements which can make a simple walk unpleasant or dangerous.”
