Report Claims Pothole Repair Blackhole Is £12bn

FIGURES from the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) have revealed the extent of the nation’s pothole crisis, with a report claiming the "catch-up" cost of getting roads back into reasonable a condition has soared to £12 billion.

The total is an increase on the £10.5 billion figure reported last year, and remains high despite more than two million potholes being filled in England and Wales over the last 12 months.

This was despite a 20% decrease in the shortfall in annual road maintenance budgets reported by local authorities, with the shortfall reducing from an average of £6.2 million to £5.1 million per authority in England.

The figures were greeted with alarm by motoring groups and also by the Local Government Association (LGA) which said the country was facing a "roads crisis escalating at an alarming pace".

The AIA also reported that the number of compensation claims for personal injury or damage to vehicles has increased by 20% over the last year to an average of 540 for each local authority in England (excluding London where the figures remain the same as the previous year) and 141 for councils in Wales.

To add to the issue, the AIA said that much of the pothole work done over the last 12 months had been counteracted by the high winter 2014 rainfall.

By Press Association reporters