Surrey county council appears to have responded to criticism about failing to make road maintenance a priority
6:01am 14th January 2016
The Advanced Institute of Motoring has revealed details of authority spending across the country.
Surrey comes first having spent £44 million on road repairs and resurfacing between 2014 and 2015.
It comes fifth on temporary repairs over the same period.
The top five county councils to invest the most money into road repairs and resurfacing between 2014/15 include:
1. Surrey – £44 million
2. North Yorkshire – £43.9 million
3. Cumbria – £33.5 million
4. Devon – £32 million
5. Lincolnshire – £30.2 million
County councils that have invested the most money into temporary pothole repairs between 2014/15 include:
1. Kent – £7.7 million
2. Devon – £5.98 million
3. Gloucestershire – £5.93 million
4. Cumbria – £5.4 million
5. Surrey – £4.88 million
Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “We are very pleased that our calls for greater investment in local roads appear to be having some effect.
“We hope this trend continues.
“With council tax increases this April, we very much hope councils will use some of the extra money in continued investment in their own vital local roads, the condition of which has a direct impact on road safety.
“The IAM welcomed the government’s pothole fund as a solution for short-term problems, but our figures show that the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme is really starting to deliver long-term benefits by encouraging a shift to capital spend and sharing of knowledge and resources.”