LGA Pothole repair funding

Commenting on the LGA’s analysis that highway maintenance funding in UK is one of lowest in OECD AIA Chair, Rick Green said: “It’s no surprise that the Local Government Association’s (LGA) analysis has found UK highway maintenance budgets at the low end of the OECD scale. The picture of managed decline reflects the findings of our Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, which has reported for many years on local highways budgets under pressure and the resulting impact on road conditions.  

“The link between continued underinvestment and the ongoing structural decline and below-par surface conditions of our local roads is clear. ALARM 2023 reported that it would now take £14.02 billion* – the highest recorded in 28 years of ALARM surveys – to tackle the backlog of repairs and bring them up to a condition from which they could be effectively managed going forward.

“We support the LGAs call for committed investment in local roads and a longer-term approach. The AIA also believes that more local highway budget ringfencing is needed to ensure that funds are directed to the type of works that deliver the best value for money, lower lifetime carbon impacts as well as enhancing conditions and improving the resilience of the local road network.”