Third of England’s local roads are in need of repair

A third of all local B and C roads in England are in need of repair, new figures show.

Analysis of data from the Department for Transport by the AA shows that Derbyshire Council has the worst B and C roads, with a quarter of them in need of repair, while a fifth of local roads in Southend-on-Sea should be ‘considered for repair’.

Unclassified roads – which are local roads intended for local traffic – make up a fifth of the roads maintained by councils, but the AA’s findings show that 15 per cent of these are considered ‘Red’ – the worst ranking possible.

Half of the unclassified roads in Hammersmith & Fulham are in need of repair, while more than a third of unclassified roads in Bury and Wolverhampton require resurfacing.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “Roads across the country are in an awful state and with winter just around the corner the plague of potholes will only spread.

“Local roads are at great risk of becoming dangerous and need significant investment to make them safe. Smooth roads also encourage people to cycle more which would help reach our Net Zero targets.

“Our local roads cannot take another round of cuts. The Prime Minister and Chancellor should avoid slashing local road investment later this month.”

Department for Transport figures show that there was a slight improvement in the number of local roads categorised as ‘green’ – where no further investigation or work is required – since the year ending March 2021, rising from 64 to 66 per cent. There was also a slight decrease in the proportion of amber roads – where maintenance may be required soon – from 29 to 28 per cent, while red roads – which should ‘be considered for maintenance – remained at six per cent.