Describing the current state of the roads as a ‘pothole plague’, damaged streets across the UK are putting lives of drivers and other road users at risk – as well as increasing repair costs for drivers.
During her visit, Haigh met with road workers and councillors to see first-hand the extensive work being undertaken to tackle problem and learn how high-definition imagery is used to spot defects and speed up repairs.
Blackpool’s Project Amber initiative employs an advanced imaging system to capture high-definition photographs of roads, identifying potholes and gathering data on areas that urgently require repairs.
The goal is to implement similar systems nationwide, addressing England’s neglected roads while saving money for both drivers and local councils.
Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, said: “For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague. Our roads have become a constant and visible reminder of the decline in our country’s infrastructure, which stunts economic growth.
“From drivers to bikers to cyclists, everyone who uses our roads deserves a safe and pleasant journey. That’s why I’ve pledged to support local authorities to fix up to one million more potholes per year.
“Blackpool Council are already doing fantastic work to make the most of new technology to repair potholes faster. This should be a model for every community to learn from and help deliver the roads their drivers deserve, so that Britain can get moving.”
Introduced in 2019 by the Local Council Roads Innovation Group, Blackpool was the first local authority to adopt this technology for road repairs. Since then, the council has experienced a notable decrease in its compensation costs related to pothole claims.
Previously, it spent as much as £1.5 million annually to settle these claims, but last year, that amount dropped to just £719.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “The new Government simply must do something differently. Without a promise of far more funds for councils – something we will push hard for ahead of the autumn Budget – its options are extremely limited.
“Put bluntly, the less we spend as a nation on our roads now, the more it will cost us in the future.
“That’s the pattern we’ve been in for years now, as is clearly shown by data from ourselves and from many other parts of the industry.
“So, the ultimate question is this – in terms of the inevitable costs we’ll face in the future, can we really afford not to fix our dilapidated roads?
“Drivers, who contribute billions to the Exchequer in taxes every year, have been driven to despair by a local road network that, in far too many parts of the country, is just going from bad to worse. It shouldn’t be this way.
“They need something to believe in from both national and local government. Anything less than a step change in the condition of the roads over the course of this Parliament simply will not do.”
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