In response to the DFT announcement on local road network funding (20 July 2019), FTA’s Malcolm Bingham, Head of Road Network Policy said:
“FTA’s members have been very clear, that the road network has been subject to chronic underinvestment for many years. Taxes on UK road transport are the highest in Europe, yet our roads continue to be underfunded: HGVs alone pay enough tax to fund more than 90% of the current amount spent on road maintenance in the UK.
“While this £348 million investment in the local road network is welcome, it still does not go far enough to tackle the problem nationwide. Estimates show it would cost £9.79 billion* and take ten years for highways departments to resolve all the road repairs currently needed. FTA’s members and their vehicles are taking the hit for a chronic lack of underinvestment in the UK’s roads network, and we hope that this investment marks the start of a longer term, more comprehensive road improvement strategy, which is needed to keep the UK’s supply chain moving. *according to the ALARM (Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance) Survey 2019, published by the Asphalt Industry Alliance.”
