Statement from ADEPT - £6bn fund for road maintenance

The Association of Directors of Economy, Environment, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) has responded to the announcement today of £6bn funding for road maintenance.

"ADEPT welcomes the £6bn capital allocation by the Government and the surety of funding up to 2021 provided by this announcement. Highways are crucial to the UK economy and we have a backlog of repairs which has accrued over many years caused by under investment and uncertainty of funding.  The Government also needs to recognise the ongoing pressures imposed by revenue cuts in our highway budgets. 

"Our focus needs to be on maintaining our existing assets or we will find ourselves in a situation where the transport network is so fragile it becomes unsustainable and the investment needed to bring our roads up to standard is too great to manage. This announcement will help authorities to put in place robust long-term strategies for maintenance rather than simply responding to immediate problems.

"ADEPT however urges the Government to build on this approach through providing adequate and stable funding streams and to avoid the temptation of instead releasing one-off or competitive funds with tight delivery deadlines, which makes proper asset management planning difficult."   

Tags: