Years Of Council Cuts Have Left South Scotland With “Crumbling” Roads Says MSP

Years of cuts to council funding by the Scottish Government have left south Scotland’s roads “crumbling”, according to local MSP Colin Smyth.

Information obtained through FOI revealed that it would take almost £1.7 billion to get Scotland’s local roads up to scratch – and that is excluding six major council areas who didn’t provide the relevant information.

This comes as the Scottish government pass their budget inflicting a fresh round of cuts on local budgets, likely driving our roads into an even more dire state of disrepair.

South Scotland MSP and Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy & Transport & Rural Affairs Colin Smyth said years and years of cuts to council budgets have meant less money has been available to repair potholes and other road issues.

Colin Smyth said: “These astonishing figures lay bare the dire state of disrepair on our local roads after years of neglect.

“Scottish government have cut local government funding to the bone, leaving roads across the region to crumble and taxpayers to pick up the bill.

“For example, in Dumfries and Galloway, the region has the third largest road network in Scotland but one of the smallest grants from central government to maintain those roads.

“Our pothole-ridden roads are a daily reminder of how badly the Scottish Government have let down communities and failed to properly fund councils.

“Now the Scottish government has hit Councils with another year of brutal cuts things are only set to get worse.

“The Scottish government must stop burying their heads in the sand about this and show some leadership dealing with the mess they created.”

Source: FOI request to local councils across Scotland. The total excludes West Dunbartonshire; Stirling; East Lothian; Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire; and Aberdeen City