March 24, 2025

ALARM25: the local roads crisis with David Giles

30 minutes

In today’s podcast takes a close inspection of the UK’s ever-deteriorating local roads condition.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the ALARM survey – the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey – which for three decades has been the crucial benchmark for assessing the state of local roads across England and Wales.

Commissioned by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), the report was published last week and provides an invaluable snapshot of road conditions, funding levels, and the growing maintenance backlog across the UK’s local roads network.

And once again the 2025 findings, based on real feedback from real local authorities, paint a stark picture: local roads remain in decline, with 34,600 miles in poor condition and the cost to clear the repair backlog reaching an all-time high of £16.81 billion.

And while of course some might argue that “they would say that wouldn’t they!” the reality is that, despite the UK government’s pledge to fix one million potholes per year, we are still very far short of the long-term, sustained investment needed to tackle deep-rooted structural issues.

Because local roads are a vital economic asset - valued at over £400 billion. And just 1% of this value is allocated for annual maintenance. A shockingly poor stat given how much we all rely on these assets.

So what to do? Well my guest today might know! David Giles is Chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance and a director of Continental Bitumen UK – someone who is ideally placed to explore the key findings, the barriers to progress, and of course, the actions needed to ensure a safer, more resilient local road network for the future.

His latest report calls for a radical shift in approach: multi-year funding, ring-fenced investment, and a long-term commitment to repairs – something similar perhaps to the current approach to the strategic road network.

So is that possible? Well let’s find out.

Resources