Rachael Hamilton MSP held a members’ business debate to call on the SNP Government to introduce a pothole fund.
In the debate Mrs Hamilton raised concern about the poor conditions of Scotland’s roads that have worsened even further after the Beast From the East.
Last year Confused.com calculated that the total depth of potholes in the Scottish Borders is 97m. The same height as 65 cars. In 2014, 1,144 potholes were reported, 2015 – 1,263, 2,016 – 2,417 and in 2017 over 937 had been recorded.
In Scotland there are a recorded 153,310 potholes at a total depth of 6,354m. The same as 1.2 times the depth of the Mediterranean Sea and the same height as 4,243 cars
Funding to maintain Scotland’s roads have been cut by a fifth over the last seven years. A report from COSLA found that it fell from £691 million in 2010/11, to £554 million last year. As such, the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland have warned that it is ‘not possible’ to repair each one.
The Scottish Conservatives propose a Pothole Fund of £100 million over the next Scottish Parliament – £20 million a year – to support local authorities to repair Scotland’s roads.
At an average cost of £52 per pothole repair, the fund would help fix nearly 2 million potholes over the course of the Parliament
The fund will be allocated based on percentage of the council’s road maintenance budget. This ensures fairness during allocation.
The Scottish Border Council has set aside £22 million on roads and bridges and recently announced that an additional £1.8m investment announced to this year’s £2.6 million resurfacing programme to help repair 32 roads in the Borders.
However, The Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland have warned that funding cuts mean it is ‘not possible’ to repair each one.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said after the debate:
‘I am inundated with complaints about the state of our roads, an inherited hangover from SBC’s previous lackadaisical SNP administration who just didn’t put roads as a priority .
‘I am pleased that our current administration has committed to repair our roads but as experts say the amount of repairs required combined with funding cuts mean it is not possible to repair every pothole.
‘That is why the Scottish Conservatives are calling for a £100m Pothole Fund. This will help our local authorities and will see our roads repaired. It is time the SNP Government started taking road concerns seriously and do something about it.’