Signatures are being sought for an online petition calling on the Government to divert 2p a litre from fuel duty towards repairing potholes on local roads.
The petition was lodged earlier this week on the Parliamentary website by the Road Surface Treatments Association.
It says that decades of under funding in local road maintenance has led to a repair bill of £12Bn and claims that the extra 2p a litre would make an extra £1Bn available each year.
If the petition reaches 100,000 signatures it must be considered by Parliament.
“A further £1Bn annual investment would certainly help local authorities tackle the damage done by under investment by successive governments,” said RSTA chief executive Howard Robinson.
“We urge all drivers to sign the petition so that Parliament will have to debate the issue of our potholed, deteriorating roads.”
A spokesman from motoring group the AA said that ringfencing 2p a litre from fuel duty to pay for road repairs “would certainly get the support of many drivers”. But he warned that this is not the first time successive governments have been asked to divert a proportion of taxation from petrol and diesel sales towards filling potholes.
A much more recent issue to consider is the effect a weaker pound has on fuel, which has pushed up prices at the pumps, he added, leading to a “VAT windfall” of an extra penny a litre.
Highways Term Maintenance Association executive director Geoff Allister FCIHT said: “We would support moves to increase the level of investment in highways maintenance and wish to see this sustained over a period of years to provide certainty to the industry, improve the condition of the nation’s roads and bring economic benefits.”
-01.png){kind=spacer}