William Eichler 17 April 2023

Drivers face ‘pothole postcode lottery’, FoI reveals

Drivers face ‘pothole postcode lottery’, FoI reveals  image
Image: ronstik / Shutterstock.com.

Some councils in England are taking over a month on average to fix potholes once they have been reported, a freedom of information (FoI) request has revealed.

Figures provided by 81 councils to the Liberal Democrats have revealed what the party calls a ‘pothole postcode lottery’.

The councils reported 556,658 potholes in the financial year 2021/22, up from 519,968 in 2017/18.

Roads maintained by Derbyshire County Council were the worst affected with 90,596 potholes, followed closely by Lancashire County Council with 67,439 and Northumberland County Council with 51,703.

The highways maintenance budgets of local authorities have been cut by £500m (28%) since 2020-21, although the Government announced a £200m top-up last month.

The FoI revealed that some councils took up to eighteen months to repair potholes. In two cases Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Westminster City Council took 567 and 556 days.

Last year, it took Newham Council 56 days on average to repair the 138 potholes reported, according to the Liberal Democrats. Similarly, Lambeth Council took 50 days on average to fix their 462 potholes – five weeks longer than their 2017/18 average of 14 days.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Early Help Family Practitioner - 12 month FTC

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
£39150.00 - £42861.00 per annum
Be the support that helps families find their strength and move forward.Be the support that helps families find their strength and move forward. As England, London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council

Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development

Swansea Council
£73,908 - £85,884
As Head of HR and OD Swansea (Abertawe)
Recuriter: Swansea Council

Early Help Practitioner

Durham County Council
Grade 6, £28,142 - £31,022 per annum
Durham County Council are on a continuous improvement journey in relation to its Early Help service. We are one of 75 Local Authorities who are part o Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Legal Clerical Assistant

Durham County Council
£26,403 to £28,598 p.a. (Grade 5)
A vacancy has arisen within Business Services for a full time, permanent Legal Clerical Assistant to provide legal clerical support to solicitors and Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Practice Coordinator

Durham County Council
Grade 13 - £47,181 - £51,356
Do you love supporting practitioners to bring their best selves to their work? We are looking for a Practice Coordinator to support our Social Worker Spennymoor
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner