Cash squeeze means roads in Fife will get worse

Fife Council has warned that money problems will lead to an increase in the number of potholes and defects while the maintenance backlog will climb and the condition of the carriageways will deteriorate.

A high level of spending has led to a "generally improving" picture in the Kingdom but that's set to end and road conditions "will worsen due to the tight financial position over the next five years".

Ken Gourlay, head of assets, transportation and environment, admitted: "As a consequence of the overall reduction in available funding of 21 per cent, the road network condition is likely to deteriorate in the medium- to long-term."

In a report to councillors, he said that "sustained investment" from 2009/10 had resulted in a "generally improving trend for Fife's road network condition" and a drop in the number of defects.

The investment was "mostly funded by borrowing" but over the next five years, the money available for carriageways maintenance is set to drop, from £52.25m in the years 2012-2017 to £41.07m between 2017 and 2022.

He added: "As a consequence of reducing carriageway maintenance investment and the anticipated deterioration in road condition, it is expected that the number of road defects will rise in the medium- to long-term, increasing the pressure on the revenue budget."

Mr Gourlay's report said that Fife's current road maintenance backlog was £69.9m which, given the "expected deterioration" in the condition of the roads, was also set to increase.

Roadworks are prioritised in Fife with category 1 defects – those giving an "unacceptable safety hazard for users" – to be fixed within 24 hours.

In 2016/17 there were 272 and 94.5 per cent of those defects were repaired on time.

The less serious, category 2 defects, are those which equal or exceed 40mm at time of inspection and should be fixed within five days.

Last year there were 22,510 in Fife and 79.5 per cent were fixed in the target timeframe.