Potholes partly caused by foreign heavy goods vehicles, adviser says

Foreign trucks are partly to blame for Kent’s pothole problem, the county’s roads chief has said.

Councilor Neil Baker said high vehicle volumes generated by cross-Channel travel and decades of “significant underfunding” had led to poor road conditions.

“We get a lot of foreign trade and maybe don’t contribute as much as we would like to the maintenance of our roads,” Mr. Baker said.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said last month the UK was suffering from a “pothole scourge” and said the government was committed to working with local authorities to repair a million additional potholes each year.

Mr Baker, Kent County Council’s cabinet member for transport and highways, said foreign trade does not help fund road maintenance as he would like.

He added that pothole problems were also caused by the “massive” housebuilding program underway in Kent, which has put more cars on the roads.

The council recorded 34,474 potholes in 2017-18, compared to 57,481 in 2023-24, the Local democracy information service said.

Mr Baker said: “It is essential that the Government commits additional funding to road maintenance in the next Budget. »

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the country was suffering from a “pothole scourge” and pledged to help local authorities repair up to a million potholes per year. year.

“We are determined to address the poor state of our roads and help halt the decline of the country’s road network, to get Britain moving again,” Ms Haigh said.

The Government will announce how it plans to deliver on its pledge to repair up to a million potholes each year once the spending review is completed in spring next year.

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