A Leicester-based surfacing company is leading the way in safer road surfacing following a year of business investments. The company is raising awareness of the importance of safe road surfaces this Road Safety Awareness Week (17-23 November).

HMS Decorative Surfacing has invested heavily in its resurfacing services over the past year, including doubling its team of workers, to cater for the growing demand for road repairs across the country.

This comes as the so-called ‘pothole plague’ was addressed in parliament last month during the Chancellor’s Budget speech, with £500m pledged towards improving Britain’s roads.

The AA recorded over 600,000 pothole related call outs last year and the RAC reported a 53% increase in road surface related breakdowns in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023. According to Cycling UK, 255 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured due to unsafe road surfaces since 2017 and 70 motorcyclists will die or suffer injuries every single year.

HMS has appointed new Surfacing Operatives and an Administration Assistant and invested in two new surfacing trucks. It has also worked towards upholding its BBA (British Board of Agrémen) accreditation, to keep up with the increasing number of reported potholes across the UK, and ensure all repairs meet rigorous standards for quality, durability and safety.

Laura Wilson, Director at HMS Decorative Surfacing commented on the business’ growth. She said: “The need for effective and long-lasting road repairs has become increasingly evident over the past couple of years, as we’ve seen the number of pothole related accidents and breakdowns skyrocket. This Road Safety Week, we want to highlight the need for safer road surfacing in the UK to keep people safe and save lives.

“As a business we’ve seen this demand and so anticipated the labour government’s pledge to make improvements within the Autumn Budget. We’ve made many strategic decisions to support this; from doubling our numbers working on the ground, to growing our admin team and investing in new vehicles so we can extend our services.

“I’m really proud of how far we’ve come this year, and with this extra government funding, we now look to the future of HMS – aiming to grow our business and offer even more resurfacing services across the UK.”

The company specialises in the installation of durable High Friction Surfacing, laying over ten thousand metres of specialist anti-skid surfaces this year alone, which is estimated to reduce wet crashes by 83% and total crashes by 57%. As part of its increased operations, HMS Decorative Surfacing has undertaken extensive and essential works on roads across Leicester city centre to keep them safe for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians over recent months.

Jamie Long, a Highways Engineer from Leicester City Council commented: “These road works have not only ensured longevity – with a lifespan in excess of 10 years – they have made huge improvements to Leicester’s road safety. Potholes, joints and cracks can cause major disruption on our city’s roads, not to mention damage vehicles and put lives at risk.

“As pothole related incidents have increased, the council are striving to ensure our city’s roads are resilient and safe for use, which makes the works HMS have carried out even more essential for the safety and wellbeing of Leicester’s drivers and pedestrians. We’re really pleased with the quality of workmanship from HMS and the team worked efficiently to ensure minimal disruption.”

Road Safety Week is Brake, the National Road Safety Charity’s biggest annual campaign. The charity wants to raise awareness of the devastating toll of road crashes, and support families of victims.

Supporting the charity’s campaign, HMS Decorative Surfacing has more than 30 years’ unrivalled trading history for providing safer roads through high quality resin-based surfacing treatments for Highways England, contractors, local authorities, national home builders and residential & domestic projects.