THE new Prime Minister popped up on socials the other day banging on about “growth in every postcode” and “hope in every heart”.
Well, MrAndyBurnham.com, you can start by fixing Britain’s crumbling roads.
The RAC estimates six potholes per mile on council-controlled roads in England and Wales
It’s like a rubbish game of Mario Kart out here trying to dodge hungry potholes
Because it’s like a rubbish game of Mario Kart out here trying to dodge hungry potholes.
The RAC estimates six potholes per mile on council-controlled roads in England and Wales. Easily higher.
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Three in four drivers have suffered pothole damage and the average repair bill is £590.
Many others have lost control of their motor either avoiding a pothole or skidding on debris from one.
POT LUCK
I took council to court after pothole did £515 worth of damage to my car – and WON
HOLE-Y HELL
1.7MILLION MOT failures caused by POTHOLES in sign of ‘unacceptable UK roads’
Public dissatisfaction with our roads is now higher than with any other local government service.
When Mr Burnham returns from his holidays (he only started his new job two weeks ago) he needs to come up with a solid action plan to appease 42 million frustrated drivers.
Public dissatisfaction with our roads is now higher than with any other local government service Credit: Supplied
Many drivers have lost control of their motor either avoiding a pothole or skidding on debris from one Credit: Getty
Not so long ago, the Government earmarked £7.3billion to upgrade local roads over the next four years.
The real cost is closer to £18.6billion, says the Asphalt Industry Alliance.
Some fed-up motorists would even pay more council tax or VED if it funded road improvements, according to a Citroen poll.
But there are other easy wins such as using AI tools to inspect roads, hitting utility firms with tougher penalties for botched repairs, and using volunteers for inspections.
Citroen consulted experts to come up with a six-point “Better Roads” plan.
‘BETTER ROADS’ PLAN
CITROEN has come up with six common-sense solutions to help fight the pothole plague . . .
Use AI to assess road surfaces, capture data and speed up repairs
Tighter controls on utility companies digging up roads
Guaranteed five-year plan for road funding
Create a national standard defining the size of a pothole
Use volunteers to speed up inspections
More road-sweeping to remove surface debris
All this from a car firm famed for its pillow-soft suspension and squishy seats. Thank you, Citroen.
Citroen boss Greg Taylor said: “I don’t think we can carry on as we are, watching what I can only describe as a managed decline of the roads.“You’d think there would be a carefully considered action plan to tackle such a serious problem.
“But our Freedom of Information request to Britain’s 154 local highways authorities exposed a haphazard approach to repairing and maintaining our roads.
“The result is a huge disparity between councils in how long each takes between potholes being reported and inspected, then repairs agreed upon and carried out.
“It is essentially a postcode lottery on how well your roads are maintained.”
Some councils say a pothole is only a pothole if it’s 80mm deep. Others say 40mm. There’s no official guidance. Credit: Alamy
Only half of councils use geolocation to identify exactly which hole they’re supposed to be fixing Credit: Getty
Surrey County Council admitted it took 80 days for a pothole report to be inspected.
The time gap between agreeing a repair in Stoke-on-Trent and fixing it was 357 DAYS.
Only half of councils use geolocation to identify exactly which hole they’re supposed to be fixing. Kingston upon Thames has no driven inspections at all.
Some councils say a pothole is only a pothole if it’s 80mm deep. Others say 40mm. There’s no official guidance.
Other data estimates one in six local roads have less than five years’ life left in them and more than half of potholes in a town are caused by failed repairs after being dug up by utility firms for pipes or cables.
Highways engineer Dave Gaster painted a bleak picture, saying: “Due to long-term under-investment, poor law changes and incomprehensible working practices, our once-great highways are now catastrophic.
“In many parts of the country they’re exceeding the tipping point towards rapid decay.”
David Giles, chair of the AIA, said: “Local authorities told us that if, hypothetically, their backlog of repairs was cleared, the amount they would need to maintain their roads to a steady state each year would be £1billion less a year going forward.”
We haven’t even discussed heavier cars — particularly EVs — or flash flooding caused by blocked drains.
Over to you, Mr Burnham. Fix our roads.
