Pothole repair costs ‘soar during SNP tenure’

THE cost of repairing potholes on Scotland’s roads has soared by tens of millions of pounds during the SNP’s seven-and-a-half years in power, figures released under freedom of information laws showed.

A pothole at Craiglockart, Edinburgh. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Council spending on road repairs went up from £163 million in 2007-08 to £220 million in 2013-14 - an increase of 35 per cent - the statistics showed.

Conservative transport spokesman Alex Johnstone called on the Scottish government to launch an additional pothole fund to help councils cover the cost of long-standing road repairs.

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Mr Johnstone said: “We’re calling for an end to the current slap-dash approach to fixing our roads.

“Thousands upon thousands of road users have to put up with the state of Scotland’s roads every day and many are understandably angry and fed-up.

“This SNP government needs to take a far more strategic and long-term view to fix our road network.

“One possible way to sort our road infrastructure is if the Scottish Government provided a specific pothole fund so councils can bid for cash to spend on fixing potholes and creating a stronger infrastructure.”