A director of the Road Surface Treatment Association (RSTA) has asked the industry to sign the organisation’s petition for a portion of fuel duty to be diverted into road maintenance after a jump in the cost of clearing the repairs backlog.
The 2017 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, published on Tuesday, found that the estimated one-time cost of bringing roads up to a ‘reasonable’ condition has risen to £12.06bn.
Mike Harper is a director of the RSTA
An RSTA petition calls for an additional 2p per litre of existing fuel duty to be diverted into road maintenance. The Local Government Association has backed the request, as has the RAC Foundation.
Mike Harper, head of highways at Stirling Lloyd and a director of the RSTA, said: ‘This would mean an additional £1bn per year, which in turn would mean substantial treatments could be carried out - not just in a reactionary way when it hits the headlines - but in a preventative way as prescribed by the publicly funded HMEP initiative.’
‘Local authority spending was reduced 16% last year for highways and there are rumours of a further 15% cut this year. It really is a case of “poor and getting worse” and the 2017 ALARM survey findings bear testament to the lack of investment.
‘The RSTA is calling on everyone in the industry to sign up in order for the issue to be considered for debate in parliament.’
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