WOKINGHAM Council would need at least another £10.7 million just to plug every pothole in the borough, according to a new survey.
Every year, the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) asks local authorities about the state of the roads for its Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) report. And the results are, well, alarming.
Across the south east, local authorities told AIA that its highways teams were receiving just two-thirds of the money needed to stop roads from deteriorating any further and, sending a shiver down chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spine, more than £3 billion is needed to fix a backlog of repairs.
It is estimated that even if the money came through, it would take 14 years just to repair these roads.
And it gets worse: 16% of the road network – one in seven roads – has an estimated five years’ structural life left, meaning things will get worse before they get better.
The news will come of little surprise to Wokingham’s motorists, with many regularly complaining of potholes cropping up across the town, with hotspots including the A329m, Reading Road, many roads in Woodley, and well … take your pick.
Rick Green, AIA Chair, said local authorities aren’t to blame: “Highway engineers can only do so much with the resources they are given and should be applauded for the steps they take to keep roads safe.
“Potholes and the condition of our local roads remain key issues for the public and the Chancellor went someway to recognising this in his Spring Budget. But a share of the additional £200m one-off payment for local roads in England, while welcome, is just not enough.
“It represents around 16% of the average shortfall in local authorities’ annual budgets in the South East and will do little to improve overall structural conditions and stem further decline.
“We all appreciate that there are difficult choices to make with demands and pressures on the public purse coming from every area, but not investing in local road maintenance only leads to worsening conditions, which impact on other locally provided public services, a rising bill to fix the problem and more road user complaints.”
But there is a glimmer of hope for Wokingham. While it won’t cover every pothole, the government has announced the council will receive £589,200 for its annual maintenance schedule.
The funding covers all parts of the highway network, including bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns, as well as fixing potholes.
Cllr Paul Fishwick, executive member for active travel, highways and transport, said: “We are pleased to receive this well needed boost to our highway maintenance funding at a time when we’re facing huge financial challenges to ensure vital services are protected and residents get the help and support they need, but it is not enough.
“As the lowest funded unitary authority in the UK, with one of the lowest numbers of staff per resident, this funding will help us to continue to ensure our residents are kept safe as they travel around the borough.
“We welcome the additional £589,200 funding for highways maintenance from central government this year. However, the Alarm Survey published this week shows that there is still a huge shortfall, not just in Wokingham Borough but across the country, and the government needs to do more to help us keep our residents safe when travelling around the borough”.
Cllr Charles Margetts, Wokingham Conservatives shadow spokesperson for active travel, highways and transport, urged some caution over the source, saying the AIA is a trade body and had an interest in gaining more work for the industry.
“Maintenance of the roads is one of the few universal services provided by the council for residents. No local authority lives in an ideal world of endless money,” he continued.
“The key issue is the council should spend money on resident priorities and ensure taxpayers money is spent wisely with maximum efficiency. When I was involved with adult services, when the Conservatives were in power, we faced this challenge – rising demand and limited funds.
“We could have behaved as the liberal led council now does by doing nothing and blaming central government for all of our problems. I have always taken the view that local residents deserve better than this.”
He said residents had told him they were concerned with the recent budget passed by the Liberal Democrat-led council.
“It imposes real terms cuts for the next three years on road and pavement maintenance,” he continued. “This will mean less road and pavement repairs are carried out which will impact the quality of our roads and pavements and will mean more potholes in our roads.
“This was a Wokingham decision – it is nothing to do with central government. Significant expenditure in the same budget was allocated to a climate change citizens assembly, cycleways, active travel, having elections three years out of four rather than once every four years.
“All of these things have merit – however it is my view funds should be allocated to universal services which affect every resident before being spent elsewhere.”
The full ALARM survey can be downloaded from: www.asphaltuk.org
