Time’s up: Autumn Budget must confront Britain’s highways crisis

In the forthcoming Budget, we would like to see the government providing greater support to making sustainable improvements to our highways infrastructure. It's no longer about carbon offsetting, it's about long-term energy efficiency in practice, and you can't put a price on that for the health of our planet. We recognise the difficult choices the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is faced with as she approaches the Autumn Budget.

However, with local authorities navigating continued budgetary constraints, it's imperative that they are given the support they need to be able to take advantage of the incredible sustainable transport innovations now on the market. Why? Because with decades of experience in ensuring the UK's highways are in the best condition to keep Britain moving, we know more than most that 'quick fixes' and short-term thinking can hinder progress, not help it.

It's perceived within councils that they 'can't afford' to implement these sustainable solutions on offer, so highways teams are forced to continue to plough their dwindling budgets into quick fix repairs time and time again. Take flood events; we're seeing some of them happen because councils don't have the budget or tools to empty gutters frequently enough - which simply patches up the symptom until next time. Yes, it can come at a cost, but it's about weighing up the short-term outlay versus long term benefits.

At Econ, we've invested heavily in green vehicles to keep our country moving, such as our E-QCB (Quick Body Change), a zero emissions vehicle, fully charged in under two hours. We've also invested in educating local councils on the benefits of green solutions. We're also building electric multipurpose vehicles that do more than one job; we have gritters that also function as tippers for example, resulting in a longer-term cost saving and an expense that can be shared with another department.

Meanwhile, Econ's cutting-edge highway repair solutions such as our versatile Hotboxes and Roadmenders, are designed to streamline road, pothole, and pathway repairs, helping to achieve faster, more efficient, and cost-effective results. Councils need to capitalise on the funding available and make greater investment in equipment and labour to ensure the public can see the improvements in the highways. More needs to be done to give cash-strapped local councils up and down the country the finances they need to rescue our roads.

We need to look to the example of the Welsh Assembly, which is developing its electric carbon infrastructure through significant investments in electric vehicle charging networks. This would help councils and individuals alike to choose carbon friendly options.  ALARM 2024[1] data shows that more than half the local road network is reported as having 15 years or less of structural life remaining, and that GBP16.3bn is now needed to tackle the backlog of carriageway repairs in England and Wales - the highest figure in 29 years of reporting.

In the same report, 45% of authorities reported a budget freeze or cut. There's still a mountain to climb when it comes to fixing our local roads. We need to get to the point where local authority highway engineers can plan and proactively carry out repairs and preventative works in the most timely and efficient way to the greatest benefit of all road users - rather than just having enough money to address immediate and urgent needs.

Steve Sinnott, sales director, Econ Engineering

References

1. ^ ALARM 2024 (eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com)