More than two million potholes a year could be left unrepaired on UK roads, even after the announcement of £2.5bn extra funding from HM Treasury, according to research interpreted and shared by Citroën UK.
The French carmaker said the 2019 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) report showed councils in England and Wales were £657m short on the funds needed for road maintenance and pothole repairs.
In the 2020 Budget, announced on March 11, chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed a £500m bonus each year for the next five years to repair potholes across the UK.
The government has pledged to spend £1.5bn in 2020-2021 on road repairs across the country, with the aim of repairing 50 million potholes in the next five years.
However, Citroën UK said that, according to analysis of the 2019 ALARM report – which is based on feedback from local authorities across England and Wales – the measures may not be enough.
With a £657m shortfall in annual funding, the new Budget measures could still leave more than two million potholes a year in need of repairs, even after the extra £500m is added to local council funding across the country, said Citroën UK.
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