Councillors attack state of local roads

More than three-quarters of councillors quizzed in a road condition survey are unhappy with the state of their local highways network.

Research by the Asphalt Industry Alliance also revealed that over half of councillors said the £200m injection of emergency funding from central government earlier this year was not enough to cover all the winter damage to roads.

44% of those polled called for increased funding from government to help maintain local roads, whilst a third, recognising that this is unlikely, said alternative means of funding should be made available.

And 78% said they were not satisfied with the condition of their local road network and 90% said road condition remained an issue in their area following the severe winter weather.

Alan Mackenzie, Chairman of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, said: “The survey highlights the concerns of local councillors who are faced with a crumbling road network in desperate need of repair and diminishing available road maintenance funding.

"The AIA is calling on government to find new approaches to fund sustained road maintenance through long-term preventative programmes. Investing now will save huge sums in the future. In the current financial climate it is critical that the nation’s roads are fit for economic recovery.”