Restore Our Roads
Local roads are falling apart
and drivers are paying for the failure.
Potholes, failed surfaces, dangerous edges, worn markings and temporary patches are now part of everyday driving. But this is not just bad weather or bad luck. It is what happens when local roads do not have fair, protected funding.
- Central government collects the money.
- Local roads carry the damage.
- Council tax should not be left to bail out the gap.
You pay to drive. You pay again when the road fails.
Drivers already pay heavily into the system. Vehicle tax, fuel duty, insurance, servicing, MOTs, tyres, repairs and the basic cost of keeping a vehicle on the road are already high.
Then, when local roads are allowed to decline, the public pays again through damaged wheels, burst tyres, suspension repairs, motorcycle danger, delays, insurance claims and unsafe journeys.
We pay central government
Drivers pay national motoring taxes including Vehicle Excise Duty and fuel duty. That money is collected centrally.
Local roads are still left short
The roads people use every day are maintained locally, but councils do not have a fair, guaranteed, ring-fenced settlement that matches the condition of the network.
Council tax pressure fills the gap
When highways funding falls short, councils are left stretching local budgets, delaying proper repairs and patching roads that need renewal.
The unfairness
Council tax should not be the roads bailout fund.
Local roads are essential infrastructure. They carry workers, deliveries, buses, carers, emergency services, school runs, tradespeople and everyday journeys.
If central government collects billions from road users, local councils should not be left trying to cover road failure through local budget pressure.
Council tax should fund local services. It should not be used as the shock absorber for a broken national roads funding model.
The problem is not just potholes. It is the funding model behind them.
Local authorities are responsible for the roads people use every day, but the current system does not guarantee every area a fair, protected funding stream for proper maintenance.
That leaves councils managing decline: chasing settlements, stretching budgets, prioritising emergencies and using short-term repairs where proper resurfacing, drainage and renewal are needed.
Billions are paid in. The roads still do not match what people are paying for.
The exact budgets, grants and responsibilities vary by authority, but the national contradiction is clear: huge sums are collected while local roads are still stuck in a cycle of deterioration, patching and delayed renewal.
The system rewards short-term survival, not long-term repair.
1. Money is collected nationally
Drivers and taxpayers pay into the central system.
2. Local roads wait for funding
Councils depend on settlements, grants and squeezed local budgets.
3. Roads get patched
Short-term repairs keep roads open but do not always fix failed surfaces, drainage or foundations.
4. The bill grows
The road fails again, the backlog increases and the public pays more later.
Now make it local
See what this means where you live.
National figures show the scale of the problem. Your local authority snapshot shows how the funding model lands on your doorstep.
Select your authority to see the local road funding picture: vehicle numbers, road miles, highways budget, central government funding, council-funded balance and what a fairer model could change.
How your local roads funding looks
Select a local authority to see how many licensed vehicles it has, what drivers are estimated to pay in VED, and how much of the roads budget comes back from government. Fuel duty is not included in these figures.
This is not anti-council. It is anti-broken funding.
Local authorities are left taking the blame for roads they do not have enough protected funding to maintain properly. Residents blame councils. Councils blame limited budgets. Government announces funding in rounds and settlements.
Meanwhile, drivers keep paying, roads keep failing and council tax pressure keeps growing.
Use the evidence. Back the campaign.
Restore Our Roads is campaigning for fair, protected local road funding, a serious recovery plan for the backlog, and clearer evidence showing what each area pays, receives and needs.
The first step is understanding the unfairness. The second step is seeing what it means locally. The next step is using that evidence to push for change.