Basingstoke - Our Roads are in Terminal Decline

The 2017 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey has found that nearly 20% of roads are in "poor" condition. Whilst the Tory government is planning to invest £1.2 billion in roads this year, including repair and maintenance, local authorities say it will take an average of 12 years and £12 billion to bring our roads up to scratch.

Lib Dem Councillor Gavin James comments, "evidence for this can be seen right across Basingstoke. Yesterday a motorbike rider almost came off his bike at Eastrop roundabout just in front of my car. The problem is a deep hole around an inspection cover. The biker was lucky, but next time, who knows?

There are potholes in nearly all our residential areas and some have been there for over 6 months. Strangely however, as we approach the County Council elections in just 5 weeks' time, white markings are beginning to appear around the worst pot holes.

Once every four years, a little more money is found to tackle the worst potholes, just in time for the elections. But many pot holes won't get done. We've all seen the white markings which slowly begin to fade after a few months, just leaving the pot hole to get worse.

It seems our highway officers just don't have a big enough budget to do a proper job. This is echoed by Asphalt Industry Alliance who claim 'highway teams don't have enough money to arrest the terminal decline in the condition of our road network'."

Gavin James said "I agree, if we don't increase the pot and just keep papering over the cracks, there will come a point when many roads will not be fit for purpose. We will reach a tipping point."