Breakdown company calls for permanent solutions to rid our roads of potholes

CALLS FOR A LOT MORE INVESTMENT TO FIX OUR ROADS

- By EDDIE BISKNELL Local democracy reporter

BREAKDOWN company RAC claims only a fraction of Derbyshire County Council's controlled roads received any form of maintenance during 2023-2024 despite the authority stating it has been targeting repairs with high-tech systems and that there is a need for more Government investment.

The newly released analysis of Department for Transport figures by RAC claims only 1.1 per cent of minor roads and just 4.9 per cent of major A-roads managed by the county council received any form of maintenance in 2023-24.

But the county council has claimed it has been targeting road repairs with high-tech equipment and systems and despite securing a share of £175m of Government funding for the East Midlands towards highways maintenance and potholes in Derbyshire, Cllr Charlotte Cupit has said there is still a lot more investment needed given the damage to the county's roads.

The RAC's head of policy, Simon Williams, said "only a slither of England's total road network is getting any maintenance attention whatsoever" and he claimed "most councils are in a cycle of merely filling potholes, rather than looking after their roads properly".

Mr Williams said: "The bigger picture is far more concerning because it still shows a significant decline in the proportion of our roads strengthened, resurfaced or preserved compared to six years ago.

"As the Government has just given councils a record amount of funding to look after their roads, we hope to see a significant improvement in the quality of road surfaces due to the extra maintenance they will be able to carry out in the next 12 months.

"We encourage local authorities to focus on permanent solutions rather than trying to patch pothole-ridden roads that are beyond saving."