The proportion of local roads in England strengthened, resurfaced or preserved in 2023/24 rose by 18% compared with the previous year, according to a new analysis of government data by the RAC.
However, the motoring organisation pointed out that 2022/23 had been a five-year low, and that the 2023/24 figure of 4,894 miles was still down by 35% compared with 2017/18, with last year’s figure representing only 3% of the council-run road network.
For A roads, the figure was 5%, with the 817 miles maintained down by 33% from six years before. Additionally, 50% of councils did not complete any preservation work to prevent potholes forming on major A roads in 2023/24.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s good to see an increase in the amount of road maintenance being carried out by councils from the previous financial year, but that’s hardly great progress given the 2022/23 figure was a five-year low.
“And it remains the case that still only a sliver of England’s total road network is getting any maintenance attention whatsoever. This reinforces our belief that most councils are in a cycle of merely filling potholes, rather than looking after their roads properly.
“The bigger picture is far more concerning because it still shows a significant decline in the proportion of our roads strengthened, resurfaced or preserved compared to six years ago.
“As the government has just given councils a record amount of funding to look after their roads, we hope to see a significant improvement in the quality of road surfaces due to the extra maintenance they will be able to carry out in the next 12 months.”
