Tuesday September 16th 2025
Potholes on East Lothian road
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
East Lothian councillors are being urged to more than double investment in the county’s roads to avoid major defects in the future.
A report due to go before elected members next week sees officers recommend the £3.2million earmarked for carriageways is increased to £7.5million.
And it warns: “Short-term under-investment could result in major
long-term expenditure necessary to rectify major defects, which could
have been addressed earlier.”
The report on the current condition of the council’s roads assets will be presented to a meeting of the council’s policy and performance committee for noting.
However it reveals officers preferred options to address the condition of roads is to increase the current investment.
It says the current investment of just over £3milion will lead to “sustained deterioration” with nearly half need attention within the next 20 years and a rise in insurance claims along with a steady decrease in customer satisfaction.
It says the Covid pandemic postponed critical planned maintenance and severe winter weather along with an estimated rise of material costs by as much as 30 per cent all played a part in the deteriorating condition of roads but warns “if significant investment is not made within the following years, then we are to expect an accelerated decline in the carriageway asset condition.”
The report also calls for an increase in investment in footways from £650,000 to £1.45m along with more funding for street lights over the next five years from £450,000 to £2.8m.
It reveals that a change of street lighting with 99 per cent of units converted to LED has slashed electricity costs for the council with a reduction in annual bills of around 60 per cent.
However it warns that investment in street lighting stock has fallen in recent years with the amount spent replacing deteriorated equipment ‘well below’ the average of other Scottish local authorities.
Tweet Share on Facebook
