Council motion: Extra funding for our roads
Council notes the recent report by the Local Government Association which found that:
- More than £400 million extra each year could be spent by councils on improving local roads if government funding mirrored rising income in fuel and motoring taxes.
- Road space is limited. There are now 151 vehicles per mile on our roads compared to just 119 vehicles per mile in 2000, ratcheting up the pressure on local roads.
- Travel speeds are down. The average travel speed on local ‘A’ roads is just 25 miles per hour, a one per cent decrease from a year ago.
- The maintenance and repair of roads is another serious challenge facing councils. Councils fill a pothole every 19 seconds and are dealing with a £12 billion backlog of road repairs that would take a decade to clear.
- New LGA analysis shows that if the Government matched the increase in fuel and motoring tax income generated in the last 10 years town halls would have an extra £418 million to spend on local roads.
Council believes that the government should work with councils to ensure this rising tax revenue is spent on filling potholes, easing congestion and protecting vital bus routes.
Council calls on the Chief Executive to write to:
- The Local Government Association in support of this campaign.
- And to the Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government to call for this extra funding to be devolved to local government.