The AA has warned that England’s local road network ‘cannot take another round of cuts’ after official figures showed that a third of English councils' B and C roads were rated in amber or red condition in the last year.
Road conditions in England to March 2022, published by the Department for Transport (DfT), provides information on the condition of roads in England, covering surface condition, skidding resistance and highway maintenance treatments and expenditure.
The DfT said the proportion of roads that should be considered for maintenance for the year ending March 2022 was largely unchanged from the previous 12 months.
Local Authorities reported that the proportion of A roads with a red rating, meaning they should have been considered for maintenance, was 4%, unchanged for the past three years. A further 24% had an amber rating, meaning ‘maintenance may be required soon’.
The percentage of B and C classified roads with a red rating was 6%, unchanged for the past six years. A further 28% had an amber rating.
Local B and C roads with a red rating. Source: Department for Transport
Nearly one in six (15%) unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance. The DfT said this was a small improvement from 17% the previous year but noted that unclassified roads continue to see greater yearly fluctuations.
Central government funding for highway maintenance by English councils has been frozen at 2021-2022 levels for the current financial year and the next two years.
Responding to the new road condition data, the AA highlighted ‘rumours swirling about public spending cuts’ ahead of the Government’s fiscal statement later this month.
Head of roads policy Jack Cousens said: ‘Roads across the country are in an awful state and, with winter just around the corner, the plague of potholes will only spread.
‘Local roads are at great risk of becoming dangerous and need significant invest to make them safe. Smooth roads also encourage people to cycle more, which would help reach our net zero targets.
‘Our local roads cannot take another round of cuts. The prime minister and chancellor should avoid slashing local road investment later this month.’
In the year ending March 2022, 5.8% of the local A road network (excluding motorways) and 2.7% of local minor roads (B, C and unclassified) received maintenance treatments – a slight increase on the previous year for ‘A’ roads and a slight decrease for minor roads.
Surface dressing accounted for 59% of all treatments on local A roads and 70% on minor roads.
The report notes that National Highways also monitors the condition of the strategic road network (SRN), albeit using a different methodology,
For the year ending March 2022, 4% of motorways and 7% of A roads on the SRN should have been considered for maintenance.
According to the Office of Rail and Road, 95.5% of the SRN did not require further investigation in the year ending March 2022, exceeding National Highways’ key performance indicator of at least 95%.
