‘Catastrophe’ warning over potholes crisis

If there were further cuts in maintenance funds or a severe winter “the impact on our already crumbling roads could be catastrophic” said a local government transport chief.

The Local Government Association (LGA), concerned at Government cuts and the current state of the roads, is now calling on Whitehall to free up money and invest it in road resurfacing.

The LGA said decades of underfunding, recent severe winters and widespread flooding earlier this year, “compounded by the current Government cutting £500m from roads maintenance budgets, means many councils are struggling to move beyond simply patching up a deteriorating network”.

The authority added that should councils be stripped of even more funding in next month’s Autumn Statement, many will find it nearly impossible to keep on top of road repairs.

The LGA said the issue would become critical should there be another harsh winter.