Reducing resource spending by a third could have severe consequences for the funding of local road maintenance, warns the Road Surface Treatments Association’s chief executive Howard Robinson.

Both the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) and the Department for Transport (DfT) have provisionally agreed with the Chancellor to reduce resource spending by 30% over the next four years, ahead of the Chancellor’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement announcements.

“Local government funding is the largest part of DCLG’s spend. Therefore the concern is that the 30% spend reduction will affect most areas of local government spend including road maintenance,” Dr Robinson says. “The Chancellor has implied that the cut refers mainly to housing subsidies but local councils wishing to maintain levels of subsidy may raid highway maintenance budgets.

“Similarly the 30% reduction in the DfT budget spending on resources, a significant £2.1Bn of which is transferred to local government, could see reductions in local transport services such as buses and community transport again with highway maintenance budgets being used to make up the shortfall.

“There is a real concern that these reported agreed spending cuts, although not directly concerned with highway maintenance, could have a detrimental knock on effect as local authorities try to find the funding from elsewhere.

“The links between well maintained roads and road safety, economic growth and social well being means that investment in road maintenance is essential. We should not have a ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ scenario where highway maintenance budgets are used to fund other council services.”

Dr Robinson adds that all too often good road maintenance is viewed as desirable rather than essential and that this perception is misplaced and must change.

“Failure to appreciate the true socio-economic worth of a well maintained road network is underlined by the fact that governments have, for many decades, failed to provide adequate funding for road maintenance. Local authorities, faced with dwindling resources, are often forced to raid the road maintenance budget to fund other services.

“Unfortunately road maintenance is not glamorous. It does not have the news impact of expanding the trunk road network or investing in high speed rail. Nevertheless it is essential. Roads are an asset that promote economic viability and social wellbeing.

“Maintenance is also crucial to the safety of the road network. Poorly maintained potholed roads and those that have lost their skid resistance are a hazard.

“There are financial costs to road users too. Vehicles using deteriorating roads consume more fuel and may need more repairs. There is also a compensation cost. Last year, according to the Local Government Association, local authorities paid over £53M in compensation to drivers for vehicular damage resulting from potholes. This is money that authorities can ill afford.

“Above all there is the financial good sense of investing in programmes of planned, cost effective and long term preventative maintenance rather than expensive emergency short term patch and mend.”

♦ This piece has been prepared for TP Weekly News on behalf of the Road Surface Treatments Association.