An enormous backlog of pothole and footpath repairs needed across Newcastle now tops £250 million worth of work.
New estimates from Newcastle City Council say that it would cost just over £251 million to return its roads and pavements to an “acceptable standard”.
Announcing £1.6 billion would be handed to local authorities to fix potholes in 2025/26, Sir Keir Starmer told councils in March to: “get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they’re delivering for their communities”.
But only £21.7 million is coming to the North East, less than a tenth of Newcastle’s need alone.
That allocation was to be distributed across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham by mayor Kim McGuinness.
According to most recent figures, Newcastle City Council repaired 18,179 in 2023/24 at a cost of £385,272 – compared to only 12,834 in the previous 12 months.
But Lib Dem cllr Wendy Taylor told civic centre transport bosses last week that she was “fed up” with the state of the city’s roads, complaining that she regularly reports potholes only to see repairs break down within just a few months.
Speaking at an overview and scrutiny committee meeting, Cllr Taylor added: “I get very frustrated with the number of issues I discuss with highways officers and months later nothing has really happened.”
The council says it is faced with “increasing employee costs and significant cost rises of raw materials”.
A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We have recently updated our repairs backlog figure following the completion of new condition surveys across our highways network. While the revised figure does not necessarily reflect a major increase in the scale of repairs required, it does more accurately reflect the significant and ongoing cost pressures, including inflationary rises, that we face in maintaining our roads and pavements.
“For a number of years, the funding we have received for roads maintenance has failed to match the cost of all required work. As a result we continue to direct our resources to where they are most needed, ensuring we prioritise the most urgent repairs.”
The council says that the average cost of a full pothole repair jumped from £39.02 in 2021/21 to £55.35 in 2023/24.
It estimates its current backlog of repairs totals £126.5 million for roads and £124.5 million for footpaths.
Under new requirements imposed by the Government, all councils must now publicly report on potholes repaired, road conditions, and investment in long-term preventative maintenance, or risk losing their share of an additional £500 million of funding provided this year.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are determined to end the pothole plague, which is why the North East Combined Authority is receiving over £21 million this year to fix its roads.
“This is just the start – the Government will also be investing a further £24 billion to upgrade motorways and local roads across the country, delivering lasting infrastructure Britain can rely on.”
