Roads minister calls for more long-term pothole fixes

That was the word from Hexham MP and Roads Minister Guy Opperman following a visit to Newcastle-based company Jobling Purser.

Mr Opperman visited the resurfacing solutions specialists on Scotswood Road to see how councils can best utilise the Government’s multi-billion pound investment to tackle potholes.

Mr Opperman said: “We’re on the side of drivers, which is why this government is getting on with delivering our plan to invest an additional £8.3 billion in the biggest ever funding increase for local road improvements, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.”

The Department for Transport acknowledges that a key challenge faced by local councils is finding the balance between undertaking repairs at pace to keep traffic flowing, and committing to longer-term works which can futureproof roads but require them to be closed for longer.

Mr Opperman said he was “encouraging local authorities to rethink their approach to road resurfacing to deliver long-term repairs which leave roads smoother for generations to come and will mean road users will see far fewer road works in the future”.

Northumberland County Council carried out a trial last year to see the impact of longer term fixes. Councillors have since made the decision to continue the trial into the new financial year.

Council leader Glen Sanderson said: “We did carry out a trial in the west and north of the county. It is significantly more expensive to do permanent patches but it is something that we have allocated £2.5-£3 million in this financial year.

“It is something we wanted to do and it is something we want to do more of, but it is very expensive. We feel the trials were positive enough to find more money.

“One of the big problems we have got is, it is expensive because we need to have traffic management in place, because we have to close a carriageway or the road entirely and that massively increases the cost. We have allocated a huge amount of money to the roads budget.

“We are fighting the battle against potholes and we will win.”

Natalie Younes, North Northumberland's Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, says potholes blighting our roads is a huge issue that keeps cropping up on the doorstep.

She said: “The dangerous potholes that riddle our road network are a very visible reminder of what years of Tory austerity and neglect have done to our country.”

“The Tories have left a black hole in local council finance by slashing real terms funding by a quarter since 2016. Here in Northumberland the council is now using its reserves to pay for road repairs because central government funding has not kept pace with the increasing demand and costs. This is neither sustainable nor sufficient to keep our roads in an adequate state of repair, with eye-watering amounts being paid out to drivers in compensation.”

In the meantime, Natalie is urging residents to report dangerous potholes on our local roads by using the ‘Fix My Street’ link on Northumberland County Council’s website – while any damage on major roads like the A1, A19 and A69 should be reported to National Highways.