I’M struggling to see how our roads will be improved any time soon, especially since Somerset Council declared a financial emergency in November. 

The council needs to find £100m to avoid bankruptcy, and the BBC has reported how it's ‘burning through’ its reserves.

With more people returning to work in offices, the number of housing developments which are shaping up (not to mention other proposals which are in the pipeline), and more residential space being built in town centres where businesses once thrived, traffic is only going to increase.

The council’s website states that when a pothole is reported “it is inspected within three working days and a repair will be planned if it meets the intervention levels set out in our inspection manual. In some cases, we may do a temporary repair and a permanent repair will be carried out within 28 days.”

It discusses how repairs are prioritised, how they’re carried out, how often roads are inspected, and at what point a driver may claim compensation.

I won’t be alone in thinking how the council will be able to honour its pothole pledges set out on its website in just a few years, given the ongoing financial challenges which will impact staff numbers, resources and legal payouts.