UK councils face soaring bills for streetlights and road repairs

Local authorities are facing large increases in costs due to inflation, materials shortages and energy prices.

This is causing pressure on already-stretched budgets and could delay essential work, warns the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents over 350 councils in England and Wales. As well as maintenance schemes, there could also be a knock-on impact on initiatives such as bus service improvements and active travel programmes.

Analysis from the LGA and the Association for Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) finds that councils have seen a 37.5 percent increase in the cost of running and repairing streetlights over the last six months, with some reporting that their running costs have doubled.

The cost of road maintenance has also increased, with a number of councils seeing a 22 per cent increase in the cost of repairing a pothole, relaying a road surface and other maintenance tasks.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, an estimated 60 per cent of bitumen, a material used to repair roads, was sourced from Russia. Councils are now having to ration their supply and source it from other markets.

This could add to existing road repair backlogs, which estimates suggest could take ten years and £12 billion (US$14 billion) to complete.

Councils are also reporting that increasing costs for electricity, steel, lighting and cement are all impacting their budgets and they face a 60 percent increase in the cost of salt as they prepare for winter.

Perfect storm

Previous LGA analysis, published in June, showed that councils were facing £3.6 billion of unforeseen extra cost pressures on budgets in 2024/25 due to rising inflation, energy costs and the impact of increases in the national living wage.

Cllr David Renard, Transport spokesperson for the LGA, said: “As this stark new analysis shows, councils across the country are facing unprecedented increased costs to repair our local roads, keep our streetlights switched on and invest in improved local infrastructure.

“Global pressures, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as increasing inflation and a shortage of materials have all provided the perfect storm for councils and piled pressure on already stretched local budgets.

“To tackle this issue, the new government must cover these increased costs for councils or risk roads condition getting worse or reductions in other services.

“Only with adequate long-term funding – to cover increased cost pressures and invest in local services – and the right powers, can councils deliver for our communities, tackle the climate emergency, and level up all parts of the country.”

Risk of scheme failures

Mark Kemp, President of ADEPT, commented: “Current inflation rates are having a massive impact on major capital schemes. Local authorities are doing all we can to identify additional funding to meet rising costs, but without a change to funding allocations from government, the funding gap problems that lie with local councils will worsen dramatically, increasing the risk of some schemes failing.

“Of course, it’s not just major schemes. We face the same risks and issues with other grant allocations such as Bus Service Improvement Plans and Active Travel Schemes, where allocations based on bids made last year will not cover the cost of delivery. Without government support, some local authorities will have to prioritise highways maintenance and call a halt to new schemes.”

Residents are also being hit hard. Last week, research from Friends of the Earth identified almost 9,000 ‘energy crisis hotspots’ across England and Wales, where energy use is high and typical household income is below the national average. These communities are at greatest risk of serious financial hardship as a result of high energy costs and in many cases, poor insulation is contributing to greater energy use.

The environmental charity called on the UK government to fund a council-led, street-by-street programme of free insulation. It said the measures could be at least partially paid for through a windfall levy.