Scotland’s highways are worst in Britain for ‘pothole plague’

SCOTLAND’S roads are the most potholed in Britain after two harsh winters in a row, according to a new survey.

A report by the AA, based on the findings of 1,000 “streetwatchers” who checked the condition of roads and paths across the country, put Scotland top of the pothole league, averaging 20.1 per neighbourhood against a national average of 14.9.

However, Scotland came second in the table of pothole repairs, with 14 against a national average of 12.8.

The volunteers were asked to walk the roads in a two-mile radius from their home for an hour and note what they saw.

AA president Edmund King said: “Our streetwatch volunteers have once again shown that the UK has a pothole plague which has not gone away despite extra repairs this year.

“Highways authorities need to get to grips with the problem, as compensation claims will soar when cold weather strikes and roads start breaking up again, placing greater burdens on already strained budgets.”

The survey defined a pothole as being at least 6in in diameter and at least 2in deep.

An Audit Scotland report, published in February, found more than a third of the country’s roads were below acceptable standard. This includes 42 per cent of the most minor roads, 25 per cent of single- carriageway trunk roads and 22 per cent of motorways.

The report said nearly one tenth of the non-trunk road network needed urgent work within a year.

At the time, the repair bill was put at £2 billion, but council chiefs have since warned that the total cost of bringing the country’s roads up to scratch had gone up to £2.44bn and could go up to £2.6bn.

Pat Watters, president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, said: “As sad and regrettable as it is, the bottom line is that the state of Scotland’s roads is a long-term problem that requires a long-term funding solution.

“Over the last few years, we have never hidden from that fact. There is no quick fix, there is no magic solution and I am afraid that the road ahead is certainly not a smooth one.

“Scotland’s councils are faced with a volatile cocktail of rising demand for services against a background of diminishing resources. Demand for and usage of our roads continues to increase and this, coupled with the winter weather for the last few years, is not a good combination.”

He added: “It is right that single issues such as the state of Scotland’s roads are highlighted – but Scotland’s councils have to balance an array of needs, including caring for the elderly, educating our young people, repairing the roads as well as many other priorities, and faced with such demand they have difficult decisions to make.”