BOLD PLAN TO FIX SCOTLAND'S POTHOLE RIDDLED ROADS

Scots Tories pledge to end 'patch-up' repairs with kerb-to-kerb resurfacing fund

- BY DAVID WALKER

SCOTLAND'S potholed roads will be fixed once and for all under a new proposal by the Scottish Conservatives.

The party hit out at the SNP's lack of action on the crisis, which has left many highways looking like the “surface of the moon”.

Cash-strapped councils are forced to fork out millions each year patching up roads, but often these repair jobs don't last long.

Hard-pressed motorists report on average 277 fresh road defects a day, according to figures from 2024/25, and with their funding being reduced every year, local authorities struggle to keep up with the backlog.

Unlike in England, where the previous UK Government created a ring-fenced pothole repair fund, the Scottish Government abdicates responsibility to councils.

Now, the Scots Tories want to fight back for drivers and have outlined plans to create a National Pothole Action fund for Scotland that would allow local authorities to fix roads properly.

It comes with the caveat that the work undertaken must be kerb-to-kerb resurfacing rather than patch-up jobs.

The fund would be worth an estimated £90million a year, although this would depend on how many applications are made.