Councils have warned they will struggle to maintain roads and street lights, and will face salt shortages this winter, due to spiralling inflation.
New analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) found councils have reported a 37.5% increase in the cost of running and repairing street lights over the last six months.
The analysis also found a number of councils had reported a 22% increase in the cost of repairing a pothole, relaying a road surface and other maintenance costs.
ADEPT and the LGA said global issues were responsible for driving up the costs of bitumen, electricity, steel, lighting, cement, salt and other resources.
President of ADEPT Mark Kemp said: ‘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.
'Without Government support, some local authorities will have to prioritise highways maintenance and call a halt to new schemes.’
Transport spokesperson for the LGA, David Renard, added: ‘As this stark new analysis shows, councils across the country are facing unprecedented increased costs to repair our local roads, keep our street lights 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 road conditions getting worse or reductions in other services.'
