Councils 'cutting road budgets'

11/10/11

By Dan Smith

The road maintenance budgets of some UK councils are set to be cut, new figures suggest, which could pose risks to people's vehicles.

Research published by Autoglass and based on Freedom of Information requests shows that spending cuts as big as £17 million are likely to be introduced by certain local authorities.

Matthew Mycock, managing director of the firm, said: "The state of the UK's transport network is a huge issue and and many drivers would be prepared to countenance cuts in other budgets if the money was then earmarked to fix the nation's roads."

Kent County Council is among the organisations which have taken steps to reduce road maintenance spending, Autoglass said, with its road safety budget lowered from £90 million to £73 million.

Bedfordshire, Surrey and Essex are among the other councils which are making cuts to their road budgets, it found.