A devolved, long-term plan for local road repairs is needed to get investment back up to the levels of other leading countries, the LGA has said.
The Government currently spends 31 times more per mile on maintaining motorways than local roads, while spending on local road repairs has reduced by more than in other comparable industrialised nations, LGA analysis has revealed.
Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC) show that £4 billion was spent on UK local road maintenance in 2006, compared with £2 billion in 2019.
Sweden, Denmark, the United States, Japan and New Zealand, increased spending by around half over the same period.
The LGA’s latest residents’ satisfaction polling found that only 34 per cent are satisfied with how well their local roads are maintained – the lowest since the survey began in 2012.
The LGA is calling on all political parties to commit to a 10-year programme where current funding for local roads and local transport infrastructure is boosted by devolving the equivalent of 2p of existing fuel duty.
Cllr Shaun Davies, LGA Chair, said: “The UK has fallen from the top to almost the bottom of the league when it comes to the amount we spend on repairing our local roads.
“Decades of reductions in funding from central government to local road repair budgets has left councils facing the biggest-ever annual pothole repair backlog.
“The Government should take this opportunity to work with councils to develop a long-term, fully-funded programme to catch up with the backlog.
“Ultimately, all local transport decisions should be devolved to councils, who are best placed to determine what is a priority for their areas.”
