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Call for rest of UK to follow Wales’ pothole lead

AS the severe winter weather continues to bite, Tarmac have called on the rest of the UK to follow the example of Wales and allocate more funds for road salt and mending potholes.

The Welsh Assembly Government has announced an extra £7 million for Welsh local authorities to spend on these areas this winter.

Paul Fleetham, executive director of Tarmac’s National Contracting division, said: ‘We have repeatedly called for more money to be allocated to road maintenance. Money is extremely tight for local authorities, so we are pleased that the Welsh Assembly Government has recognized the need for flexibility in the short term and is acting to keep Wales’ roads in a good state of repair, particularly with the harsh weather we are currently experiencing – this is the worst two-year weather spell for 30 years.

‘The rest of the UK now needs to follow suit; funds must be diverted to ensure we don’t have a repeat of the situation at the start of 2010, when the harsh winter caused a large increase in the number of potholes and long-term damage to an already critically underfunded road network. It would be detrimental, not just to motorists, but to our economy if we were to have a repeat of this.

‘Road maintenance remains a big issue for the UK. There is still a backlog of approaching 12 years in road repairs in England and extra short-term funds can only serve to prevent a bad problem becoming even worse.

‘The devolved government in Cardiff should be applauded for taking this step. Ideally, we need to move to a longer-term approach to road funding, managing them as an important asset with proper preventative and structural maintenance.’

 
 

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