Plummeting roads spending amid pandemic leaves pothole legacy

Perth and Kinross Council is playing catch-up after plummeting roads spending during the pandemic left a potholes legacy.

In the third of our Counting the Cost of Potholes series, we look at how fluctuating roads spending has impacted motorists across the region.

This financial year, Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) is investing a record £14 million in roads maintenance.

But it follows a slump in repair works during Covid restrictions.

Last financial year, investment in carriageway resurfacing across the PKC area nearly halved – dropping to £6.9m compared to £12.7m the previous year.

Roads were also hammered by bad weather, adding to motorists’ woes. Nearly 70% less was spent on planned patching work.

Meanwhile, more was spent on reactive patching.

This pattern has been seen across other local authorities.

It has led to complaints from the public that substandard, quick-fix repairs are a false economy.

PKC now maintains it has done “a lot of catching up”.

But even before Covid-19 put the brakes on roads projects, PKC had already been dealing with a repair backlog.

Its outlay on mending potholes had reduced by £500,000 over the five-year period to 2018-19.

Opinion is split over whether or not the council is on top of the problem.

A source from a local taxi firm, who asked to remain anonymous, was sceptical.

He claimed the repairs being made were ineffective and would “all crumble after a few showers of rain”.

But George McLaughlan of Perth hauliers McLaughlan Transport said the situation with potholes across Perth appears to be improving.

“In the main, potholes aren’t an issue at present,” he said.

Perth and Kinross Council said it adopted a “first-time permanent repair approach” to tackling potholes three years ago.

“In the main, potholes aren’t an issue at present