KENT, UK / AGILITYPR.NEWS / February 06, 2025 / FAO:     

With this anti-driver Government’s paltry road funding levels, dangerous potholes will continue to proliferate and go unrepaired unless politicians realise that their existing sticking plaster approach could cost lives, slow or even halt economic growth and hinder reaching the Net Zero target date.

• According to world-renowned economist Douglas McWilliams, founder of the Centre for Economic and Business Research, in an updated Cebr report for FairFuelUK, the cost of completely rebuilding English roads and eradicating all current potholes is estimated at £16.3 billion, a mere £1.6bn extra in only repairing the existing potholes. 
• The estimated annual cost in 2023 to repair all potholes was £14.4 billion; despite an increase in potholes mended, the repair price in 2024 has still risen to £14.7 billion.
• 1.3 billion hours are added to travel time because potholes cost the economy a massive £13.1bn. This figure does not include time lost from added congestion and delayed freight.
• This means that every road in England could be rebuilt for the cost of the economic damage from roughly thirteen months of potholes.
• The annual cost of damage to vehicles from potholes in 2024 was £1.48bn.
• Cars slowing down and speeding up boost CO2 emissions by about 0.5 tonnes, costing the economy £25m and could hinder net zero plans.
• Although there is now a £1.6 billion fund for additional local spending on potholes announced in the October 2024 budget, this follows a period where English local authorities’ spending on ‘routine maintenance’ fell in real terms from £1,756 million in the financial year ending in 2006 to £1,276 million in that ending in 2023, a fall of 27.3%. 

Howard Cox, Founder of FairFuelUK, said: “Unless Labour wakes up to the fact that upgrading all our crater-infested roads entirely, to prevent potholes reappearing again and again, road user safety will be at risk. Relying on short-term ‘rush bodge it and scarper’ reparations is politically blinkered and risks inhibiting economic growth. We must rebuild our roads to last 30 years instead of using the existing short-term filling-up of potholes strategy. Properly newly surfaced roads will boost the economy, create jobs, and prevent road casualties. It's a no-brainer and will be the cheapest option in the long term.”

Douglas McWilliams, Cebr founder, said: “Having personally completed the ‘Peking to Paris’ car rally, my take is that our UK roads are now considerably more pothole infested than anywhere in the world, apart from the dirt tracks in the far West of China and Mongolia where we had to drive across the Gobi desert. We must rebuild our roads for the sake of our economy and road safety.”

The Cebr Report can be viewed at https://fairfueluk.com/potholes. 

Howard Cox, Founder of FairFuelUK

You are receiving this press release because, according to Agility PR Solutions, you have recently written, spoken, or reported on the state of UK roads and potholes.

FairFuelUK has been a significant influencer in keeping Fuel Duty frozen since 2011.

As well as fuel taxation, other issues addressed by FairFuelUK that impact drivers have included congestion charges, ULEZ/CAZs, parking costs, hospital parking charges, potholes, road investment, unfair treatment for fossil-fuelled vehicle owners, solutions to lower emissions, cleaner fuel incentives, alternative technology options and transparent pricing at the fuel pumps with the FairFuelUK’s PumpWatch being implemented by the Tory Government in January 2024. With the expected decline in Fuel Duty revenue, FairFuelUK will also formulate a long-term approach to the future of road taxation and a positive transport strategy for all road users. https://fairfueluk.com 

Since 2010, FairFuelUK has saved drivers over £200bn in planned duty and VAT tax hikes through constructive and objective campaigning. Had FairFuelUK not campaigned to scrap the fuel duty escalator, fuel tax today would be above 90p/lt rather than 57.95p/lt. Today, we would be paying £2.00+ per litre at the pumps had FairFuelUK not fought for the World's highest-taxed drivers.

FairFuelUK is a public affairs body with no shareholders to satisfy; it is just an award-winning campaign representing the real concerns of hard-working motorists, families, small businesses, commercial drivers, and hauliers across the UK. Decades of fiscal exploitation by successive governments with little in return warrant the need for FairFuelUK as the profit-driven traditional rich motoring and trade associations have totally bought into the costly net zero policy.

FairFuelUK is fronted by the Campaign's Founder, Howard Cox. All funding is by voluntary donations.