Newcastle City Council has unveiled new plans to spend £50 million in a bid to try and curb the city’s rampant pothole problem. It comes after estimates this summer that the total cost of repairing Newcastle’s highways network is £250 million.
Council leader Karen Kilgour admitted that the new cash would not be enough on its own, but that it would be used to tackle the most urgent repairs first. She also said she would continue to lobby the Government for further cash.
Council officers have been tasked with drawing up plans to invest the £50 million into the highways network. An initial £1 million has already been allocated to some of the worst-affected roads in Newcastle, including:
- A193 Shields Road – carriageway resurfacing
- A186 Station Road – carriageway resurfacing
- C110 Tyne View – carriageway resurfacing
- Regent Farm Road – carriageway resurfacing
- Dremsheugh Place – Footpath scheme
- A595 Scotswood Road – carriageway resurfacing
Cllr Kilgour said: “We know that our residents understandably find it frustrating, inconvenient and concerning when they see that their streets and pavements are damaged.
“It is a huge concern to us as well – and rest assured we do everything we can to deal with these problems. It is however an ongoing challenge to keep every street in the best possible condition, particularly given the limited resources we receive for this purpose.
“Naturally we tackle the most urgent repairs as a matter of priority, and our resources are appropriately directed to those areas where the need is greatest. We know though that this is not enough and that’s why we have an ambition to add tens of millions to our highways maintenance fund as part of our upcoming budget.
“This significant £50 million investment will not, on its own, be sufficient to tackle the repairs backlog that we are faced with due to many years of underfunding. We will of course continue to lobby Government for greater financial support and funding for highways maintenance, in line with what our great city deserves.
“However, this investment will enable us to make a big difference to many of our neighbourhood streets, housing estates and key routes – which is something I know many residents are keen to see.”
The funding plans are likely to be put forward as part of the upcoming budget proposals in the medium term financial plan. Projects under the initial £1 million allocated on Thursday are set to begin “immediately”.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported in July that new estimates from the council itself said it would take more than £251 million just to return roads and pavements to an “acceptable standard”.
The Government did announce £1.6 billion for local authorities to fix potholes in 2025/26. However, just £21.7 million of that cash came to the entire North East, to be distributed across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham by the North East Combined Authority.
The council said the funding it received for roads maintenance had failed to match the cost of all required work “for a number of years”. This meant repairs had to be prioritised.
However, concerns were also raised that some of the council’s pothole repairs were not up to standard, leading to repeated incidents in the same locations. In response to this, some of the new cash will be used to utilise new materials and techniques that should make repairs last longer.
Cllr Kilgour added: “With additional investment, we are not just seeking to patch up our roads and pavements. We are looking at innovative ways of working so that we can keep our streets in a better condition for longer.
“There will always be factors outside of our control – in particular the weather conditions during winter which causes much of the damage on our roads – so we are seeking to not only repair our highways, but also protect them against further damage. We are already looking to secure this additional investment to help deliver the quality of roads and pavements that our residents expect and deserve.
“In the meantime I can reassure residents that our highways teams will continue to work tirelessly to carry out regular inspections and prioritise the most urgent repairs across our city’s neighbourhoods.”
