Foord backs £300m ‘pothole plug fund’ to fix Devon's crumbling roads

The Liberal Democrats have today set out new proposals to fix Devon’s roads through a new emergency pothole fund.

The party would see £300million invested directly into fixing potholes over the next Parliament, which could see around 1.2 million potholes filled each year as a result.

This would be achieved by redirecting some of the funding currently allocated for new road building projects to ensure road maintenance and improvements are properly funded.

Across rural Devon, potholes continue to erode local roads and cause huge damage to drivers’ vehicles as the backlog of repairs has spiralled to more than £200million.

The poor state of local roads is also costing Devon County Council huge sums in compensation, with over £1million of claims being submitted in just eight months.

Richard Foord has repeatedly pushed for greater investment to fix our crumbling roads, writing to the new leader of Devon County Council urging them to get tough on the Government over the need for more road repair funding.

Richard Foord said:

“This Conservative government has let our roads crumble around us. Some roads are now almost impassable due to the level of postholes and drivers are suffering as a result. 

“It isn’t fair that families across Devon are left paying the price for their neglect, when they have a duty to ensure our roads remain safe.

“Ministers have overseen sweeping cuts to our transport network, maintenance works have seen severe delays, and the state of our roads across the board has gotten worse.

“For all their lip service to motorists, it's clear this Conservative government simply does not care about drivers here in Devon and is content to keep taking us for granted.

“The Liberal Democrats are serious about fixing our roads and understand that the only way to do this is through fair funding for our local councils. This will allow them to put more into road maintenance and start the tackle the huge backlog of repairs.”