Dumfries and Galloway is confronted with a significant road repair backlog, with the estimated cost to address the issue now exceeding £250 million. Data obtained through Freedom of Information requests by Scottish Labour indicates that the repair backlog has increased from £217,000,000 in 2022 to £253,471,000 in 2024.
South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has attributed this cost surge to severe cuts in Council budgets by the Scottish Government, which have notably affected transport funding.
According to Smyth, these financial reductions have left local roads deteriorating.
Smyth commented: “These astonishing figures lay bare the dire disrepair on our local roads after years of brutal neglect under the SNP. They have cut local government funding to the bone, leaving roads across the region to crumble and taxpayers to pick up the bill.”
He further highlighted that Dumfries and Galloway, with the third largest road network in Scotland, receives one of the smallest grants from central government for road maintenance.
“Our pothole-ridden roads are a daily reminder of how badly the Scottish Government have let down communities and failed to properly fund councils,” Smyth added. “The Scottish Government must stop burying their heads in the sand about this and show some leadership dealing with the mess they created.”
