Campaigner Mark Morrell, known in the media as Mr Pothole, sets out what the new government should do to fix the local road system.
With the change in government on 5th July, will we see a change in the condition of our roads?
Sadly, Labour's manifesto pledge to fix a million extra potholes a year during the next parliament misses the point completely. Repairing potholes is a waste of taxpayers’ money in the long run. What is needed is a plan to stop them forming in the first place. A typical wearing surface on a road can probably last about 15-20 years before serious defects start to appear. The average frequency of resurfacing for all classes of roads is currently once every 80 years. So, it doesn't take a lot of working out why there are an estimated 11.5 million potholes/defects on UK roads.
Decades of under-investment in resurfacing has led to a £16.3 billion backlog in England and Wales alone. This figure increased by more than £2 billion last year. A recent economic report estimates that badly maintained roads cost the UK economy £14.4bn annually.
So, what can the new government do to improve the condition of local roads?
One positive move is the appointment of Lillian Greenwood MP as the new Future Roads Minister. As Chair of the Transport Select Committee, she produced the excellent "Filling the Gap" report. Though largely ignored by the government of the time, it successfully diagnosed the problem and gave some useful starting points for solving it.
The most important thing the Government could do of course is simply put more money in for resurfacing. This must be at least an extra £3bn, tied to inflation, every year, and not only for this parliament. It's taken decades to get into this terrible position. It is going to take 10 years at least to make any real change.
Where's the extra money coming from? There could be extra borrowing on an invest-to-save basis, or increases in motoring or fuel taxes on the proviso that the extra cash would be ringfenced for road maintenance. The Treasury may not like the idea of hypothecation but as a road user, I would be willing to pay a little extra for better roads. The hidden costs of the damage to vehicles from road defects, the drain on the economy from congestion and the risk to public safety from poorly maintained roads all help support the economic case for greater investment. Not to mention the money we waste chasing after individual potholes.
On a wider, more technical basis, I have previously made the following recommendations to the Transport Select Committee. They all still stand.
1) A return to national standards for pothole defects and timescales for repairs.
2) Colour-coded paint markings on defects such as traffic lights e.g. red, amber, green.
3) A national reporting system for highways defects using AI smart technology.
4) National training courses for operatives and better supervision to improve the standard of repairs.
5) Better use of new equipment and techniques such as the Pothole Pro, jet patching and thermal repairs.
6) Better use of data to track and record inspections by highway authorities, stopping ‘cafe inspections or parked up by the side of the road’.
7) Highways authorities should publish the size of their backlog by type and their programme of works annually. Performance against a published asset management plan should influence funding.
8) Loss of wearing surface which reduces braking/handling should be recognised as a safety hazard.
9) Establish standards for a more proactive approach to maintaining our roads rather than reactive.
10) A central team established to monitor performance and deliverables by highway authorities, with performance influencing funding.
11) Introduction of a Road Tax for every vehicle on a sliding scale, which is ringfenced for local road maintenance.
The UK road network is the lifeblood of our economy and supports the social fabric of our local places. We cannot simply continue the way we are as it risks plunging us into a cycle of decline. We can't afford the repairs backlog to continue to increase at this alarming rate. If Government doesn't invest this money soon in 15 years, 53% of our roads will be structurally unsound.
Doing nothing is not an option anymore.
