11.5 million rural potholes risk going unfilled, according to new analysis

The Countryside Alliance has warned of 'levelling down the countryside' after alarming new figures show that some 11.5 million potholes risk not be repaired by rural councils this year.

The news comes as funding for rural councils could be cut by £480 million, despite the Government pledging in 2019 to be 'the biggest-ever pothole filling programme'.

New analysis by the County Councils Network (CCN) reveals that councils outside England's major urban areas are having to abandon or scale back maintenance work as a result. They are reportedly set to receive £727 million for road maintenance funding in the next financial year, compared with £480 million two years ago.

Meanwhile, Mayoral Combined Authorities – which cover England's major cities and urban areas, will benefit from significant investment in road and transport infrastructure through a new dedicated £5.7 billion fund over the next three years.

The CCN said that 13,000 miles of rural roads in the 36 affected county areas were identified as requiring maintenance last year. In 2020/21, the first tranche of the pothole fund saw funding rise to £1.206bn for 36 county and unitary councils outside of England's major cities. However, two years later, capital funding for these authorities risks falling to just £727m next year – a cut of £480m.

The South West of England could reportedly see the biggest reduction over the two years, with local authority budgets falling by £100.7 million, the equivalent of 2.4 million potholes being filled. Counties in the South East could lose out on £87.1 million of funding, equivalent to 2 million potholes being filled.

Sarah Lee, Director of Policy at the Countryside Alliance argued that rural areas could risk being forgotten as a result of the Government's ambitious 'levelling up' agenda.

Miss Lee said: " Rural roads are some of the most dangerous roads for all users, with data suggesting they account for more than half of fatal crashes in Britain. Cyclists, motorcyclists and car drivers are more than three times as likely to be killed per mile travelled on a rural road than an urban road. The drastic scaling back of repairing potholes will only exacerbate the danger on rural roads and the Government must act now to ensure Local Authorities have the funding they need to tackle this blight."

She added: "We cannot have a situation where 'levelling up' the rest of the country risks levelling down the countryside."

CCN devolution spokesman Martin Hill said: "Unless this reduction is reversed, and the government provides an urgent injection of resources to match the level it distributed in 2020-21, then we will have little choice but to cancel planned works. This would represent a major scaling back of our ambitions."

According to the Fix That Hole website, the top 10 pothole hotspots in England with the most public complaints in 2021 were:

1. Cumbria – 448

2. Hampshire – 406

3. Surrey – 399

4. Devon – 384

5. Gloucestershire – 281

6. Shropshire – 257

7. County Durham – 252

8. Cheshire – 245

9. West Yorkshire – 219

10. West Midlands – 207