Tens of millions of pounds are needed to fix East Renfrewshire’s crumbling carriageways.

The Barrhead News can reveal that 40 per cent of the local roads network is in need of repair, with council chiefs admitting they don’t have enough cash to solve the problem.

A report to be considered by councillors tomorrow shows that a backlog of work required to fix potholes and other road faults would result in a whopping bill totalling £22.2m.

That has led to council bosses, as well as road safety experts, calling for more to be done to help local authorities tackle the pothole epidemic.

Neil Greig, policy director at road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, told the Barrhead News: “The East Renfrewshire figures demonstrate at a local level the scale of the problem now facing councils all across Scotland.

“Despite all their best efforts, roads budgets are being cut, backlogs are building up and the prospects for improvement look bleak.

“IAM RoadSmart is looking for a two-pronged approach. Firstly, councils such as East Renfrewshire have to make difficult spending decisions and allocate extra money to roads, saving them more in the long run.

“Secondly, we need a central government commitment to provide long-term funding to eliminate the backlog as, realistically, councils on their own could never do it.

“This will require a new way of paying for roads from the tax disc and fuel duties, with ringfenced amounts taken from drivers and riders being reinvested back in ways that will benefit them directly.

“Without a fresh take on the way we fund roads, they will just get worse, causing more damage, collisions and leaving a lasting picture of decay.”

Over the past two years, East Renfrewshire has repaired nearly 9,000 potholes, as well as resurfacing 20 roads and 10 footpaths each year.

However, there are currently more than 350 roads and 250 footpaths that need to be repaired.

Outlining the scale of the problem in a report, Andrew Cahill, director of environment for East Renfrewshire Council, said: “The major issue facing the council is the backlog figure of £22.2m, which is for carriageways alone.

“Clearly, simply adding anything up to £22.2m to the council’s general fund capital plan over the next few years is not a simple or straightforward solution.”

The council plans to spend around £4m on roads maintenance this year.

But Mr Cahill admits an extra £2.8m would need to be spent on top of the budget for the next eight years to bring the area’s roads up to scratch.

It comes after Conservative councillor Jim Swift branded East Renfrewshire’s roads as “Third World” at last month’s budget meeting.

Cllr Swift said that increasing the roads maintenance budget was “not unreasonable” considering residents will have to stump up an extra three per cent in council tax.

He added: “I think some of our roads infrastructure is very poor. Some is awful. We could do better.”

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “As is the case with councils across Scotland, the number of roads and pavements requiring repair far outstrips the resources available to carry out the necessary works.

“As part of our recent budget setting process, £10.7million has been identified for road improvement infrastructure projects over the next eight years.

“In addition, our annual £4million roads maintenance budget has also been protected, meaning we can continue to priorities those roads and pavements most in need of repair.”