Potholes | LocalGov

RAC: Drivers ‘dodged the pothole bullet’

23/04/2024

Vehicle owners ‘dodged the pothole bullet’ in what is normally the worst three months of the year for breakdowns, according to the RAC.

How the government can support road improvements

16/04/2024

Jake Michael, RS Bonds, sets out a number of ways the Government can help local authorities improve the condition of the local road network.

Councils publish pothole battle plans

10/04/2024

Local authorities have published which pothole-stricken roads will benefit from the first tranche of an over £8bn package of reallocated HS2 funding.

Council responds to ‘Daventry Banksie’ pothole complaints

08/04/2024

West Northamptonshire Council has responded to an anti-pothole protester with a computer-generated image of a roadside sign laden with song titles.

Council payouts for pothole punctures down 13%

03/04/2024

Council payouts for punctured tyres are down 13% since 2020 despite reports of pothole-riddled roads increasing by almost a quarter over the same period.

ALARM: Pothole-riddled roads need £16bn investment

19/03/2024

The condition of roads in England and Wales has continued to decline despite councils spending £143.5m filling in two million potholes this financial year.

Pothole-preventing robot passes first road test

08/03/2024

An autonomous robot designed to detect and fill cracks on roads has passed its first test outside of a laboratory.

Council road maintenance reaches five-year low

26/02/2024

Road maintenance by local authorities in England has dropped by 45% over five years, the RAC has revealed.

February most dangerous month for ‘pothole prangs’

13/02/2024

Motorists have been warned that February is the most dangerous month for ‘pothole prangs’ as research reveals a dramatic rise in pothole damage claims.

Council sued after cyclist hits pothole

06/02/2024

Staffordshire County Council is facing legal action after the triathlete Paul Hughes hit a pothole while cycling breaking multiple bones and damaging a lung.

Councils 'have tightened pothole payout criteria'

05/02/2024

Compensation paid by councils for damage caused by potholes has fallen by more than a half, with some giving out ‘next to nothing’.

‘Staggering’ two million vehicles damaged by potholes last year

12/01/2024

The AA attended more than 600,000 incidents involving vehicles damaged by potholes last year, new figures released on National Pothole Day today reveal.

Velocity’s low carbon interventions help prevent and repair potholes

11/01/2024

With National Pothole Day upon us once more, highways maintenance specialists Velocity discuss their innovative spray-injection patching technique.

Potholes: the drivers’ biggest pain

10/01/2024

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, discusses the scourge of potholes and what councils should do to fix the local road network.

Pothole claims up record 40%, insurer reveals

09/01/2024

The number of pothole-related claims increased by a record 40% last year when compared to 2022, the latest data from Admiral Car Insurance has revealed.

Dismay as HS2 funds rerouted to fix potholes in London

21/12/2023

The Government’s decision to redirect HS2 funding to fix potholes in London under the Network North plan has been strongly criticised by Northern leaders.

London boroughs’ share of HS2 pothole fund confirmed

20/12/2023

Allocations for a £235m funding pot aimed at fixing London’s pothole-strewn roads have been confirmed by the Government.

‘Worst October in history’ for pothole breakdowns

27/11/2023

October this year was the worst on record for pothole-related breakdowns, according to the AA Pothole Index.

AI robot could help address ‘pothole crisis’

23/11/2023

A self-guiding robot capable of identifying and repairing potholes using artificial intelligence (AI) technology could help tackle the blight of potholes.

Councils failing to fix potholes could face funding cuts

22/11/2023

Local authorities who fail to hit road resurfacing targets could see their funding withheld from a national pothole fund.

£8bn of HS2 savings to be spent on ending pothole ‘blight’

17/11/2023

Transport secretary Mark Harper has confirmed the allocations of an £8.3bn plan to resurface England’s pothole-marked roads, set out in the wake of HS2 cuts.

RAC sees record third quarter 'pothole call-outs'

10/11/2023

The RAC has dealt with the highest number of pothole-related breakdowns seen in any third quarter since its records began in 2006.

Nine on 'flexible' Barnet highways framework

08/11/2023

Barnet Council has appointed nine contractors to a new four-year highway maintenance framework worth around £75m.

London borough trials pothole repair machine

06/11/2023

Redbridge Council is trialling a spray injection patching machine to fix potholes across the borough.

AA seeks new pothole cash as councils face cut

30/10/2023

Councils ‘desperately need’ more highway maintenance funding to address the deteriorating condition of local roads, the AA has said after its worst September fixing ‘pothole-related’ breakdowns for five years.

Concern over state of roads hits record high

20/10/2023

Half of drivers say the state of local roads is their top motoring concern – a record high since the RAC began asking for motorists' views on road conditions.

Council's failure to fix pothole blamed for man’s death

17/10/2023

A man died after falling from his bike when it entered a crack in the road that had been identified to Lancashire County Council, a coroner has found.

£1.3bn local road upgrade pledge unravels

12/10/2023

Doubts have arisen over the Government's pledge that it will deliver 70 local authority road schemes

Sinkhole swallows up bin lorry

06/10/2023

An investigation has been launched after a refuse collection vehicle in North Wales was partially swallowed up by a sinkhole.

No dates for HS2 pothole cash

05/10/2023

The Government has admitted it does not have a timescale for the billions of pounds for road resurfacing that it announced after the decision to curtail HS2.

Road conditions add flood risk to pothole ‘crisis’

27/09/2023

English councils received hundreds of compensation claims for flood damage in recent years as they struggled to maintain roadside drainage, according to study.

Councils cut back on road resurfacing

13/09/2023

The number of miles of road in England resurfaced or given life-extending treatment is at its lowest point in five years, according to an analysis of government data by the RAC.

Reinstate ringfencing for pothole repairs, MPs say

12/09/2023

The APPG for better roads has issued a report calling for the Government to restore ringfencing and multi-year settlements for local road maintenance.

Wet July sees rise in pothole-related breakdowns

21/08/2023

This year is set to be one of the worst on record for damage caused by potholes, according to the AA, after July saw pothole-related breakdowns up a fifth.

The great pothole repair failure

16/08/2023

The UK has fallen far behind other countries when it comes to funding pothole repairs. Asphalt Industry Alliance's Rick Green discusses what needs to be done.

Government slashes pothole repair funding by £2bn

14/08/2023

The UK has fallen behind other high-income countries when it comes to funding repairs in pothole-ridden local roads, council chiefs warn.

Councils pay out £11m in pothole-related compensation

24/07/2023

Over the past four years councils have paid out more than £11m to drivers who successfully claimed their vehicles had been damaged by potholes, RAC reveals.

Councils warned over £16m of fake pothole claims

09/06/2023

Insurance experts have warned councils over a rise in fake claims for damage to vehicles caused by potholes.

‘Year of the Pothole’ declared as breakdowns up 29%

24/05/2023

AA has called on drivers to make 2023 the ‘Year of the Pothole’ by reporting every blemish they find on the road network as figures show breakdown increase.

Pothole-related breakdowns up nearly 40%

28/04/2023

RAC patrols helped more than 10,000 drivers who had suffered a pothole-related accident in the first three months of the year, new figures reveal.

Drivers face ‘pothole postcode lottery’, FoI reveals

17/04/2023

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.

High concentration of potholes in North, survey finds

12/04/2023

Half of the 20 councils in England found to have the highest concentration of reported potholes are in the North, according to a new survey.

Clampdown on utility companies leaving potholes

31/03/2023

Reduced traffic congestion has been promised by Government as a result of a clampdown on utility companies leaving potholes after carrying out street works.

Record £14bn needed to fix pothole-ridden local roads

21/03/2023

A record £14bn is now needed for local authorities to tackle the local roads maintenance backlog, according to the annual ALARM survey.

Budget’s lack of social care support ‘disappointing’

16/03/2023

Council leaders welcomed the new funding in yesterday's budget but were disappointed by absence of investment in social care, health and children’s services.

Budget 2023: Hunt confirms £200m for 'potholes curse'

15/03/2023

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has confirmed a further £200m in 2023-24 to tackle what he described as ‘the curse of potholes’.

Hunt set to restore £200m of local roads cash

13/03/2023

Ministers are set to announce an extra £200m for local road maintenance.

Council chiefs call for £130m to fix potholes

10/03/2023

The Government spent 31 times more maintaining motorways and major highways last year than funding councils to repair pothole-ridden local roads, study finds.

Councils forced to axe road improvement schemes

10/03/2023

Councils are planning to axe millions of pounds of road improvements because of rising costs and lack of funds, according to new research.

Pedestrian falls cost taxpayers up to £500m a year

01/03/2023

Pedestrian falls on dangerous pavements potentially cost taxpayers up to £500m a year, a new report has revealed.

Building a robust pothole-related injury legal defence

25/01/2023

Ravinder Johal, a partner at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, discusses the importance of a robust legal defence in the face of personal injury claims.

Council's £100m fight against potholes pays off

25/01/2023

Gloucestershire County Council’s plan to spend £100m over four years improving the quality of its roads is already paying off, the highway authority has said.

Cyclists warned to steer clear of pothole-ridden roads

23/01/2023

A bicycle insurance company has called for the crumbling road network to be fixed, citing data showing that 21% of cyclists have hit a pothole.

Tough Patch® repairs dangerous pothole on M180

25/11/2022

Leading infrastructure services company, Amey, has used UltraCrete Tough Patch® to repair a failed pothole on the M180.

RAC slams councils over pothole repair quality

11/11/2022

Six in 10 drivers believe the condition of the local roads they use regularly is worse than a year ago, with almost as many (55%) saying the standard of pothole repairs is ‘poor’, according to the latest RAC annual survey.

Council chiefs warn of plague of potholes and salt shortages

31/08/2022

Council leaders warn that local authorities will struggle to maintain roads and street lights, and face salt shortages due to inflation and energy prices.

Government to penalise companies for ‘plague of potholes’

13/05/2022

The Government will introduce new measures to penalise companies responsible for leaving potholes on the roads after carrying out street works.

Councils pay out £12m in pothole compensation

13/04/2022

Councils and road authorities paid out more than £12m in compensation to motorists whose cars were damaged by potholes between 2018 and 2021, research reveals.

Councils face over £12bn pothole backlog

22/03/2022

Local authority highway departments are struggling to patch up local roads and face a backlog of pothole repairs worth billions, an annual survey has revealed.

Rod Stewart video prompts warning about DIY pothole repairs

14/03/2022

Essex County Council has urged residents not to try and fix potholes themselves after Sir Rod Stewart was filmed carrying out repairs.

Counties warn funding cuts put road maintenance plans at risk

08/02/2022

County and rural councils will see their funding for road maintenance fall by nearly £500m by April this year, new analysis has warned.

Pothole breakdowns hit record high

14/01/2022

RAC’s patrols attended over 10,000 pothole-related breakdowns last year – the equivalent of 27 every single day and the highest annual total since 2018.

Council trials new micro asphalt to fix potholes

17/12/2021

Central Bedfordshire Council is trialling a new technique to make long-lasting repairs to its roads and footpaths.

Councils warn local road maintenance budgets face £400m cut

11/10/2021

Funding for local road maintenance has been cut by £400m this year, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.

Shapps announces £15m congestion and pothole scheme

13/08/2021

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today announced a multimillion-pound scheme to improve traffic signals and explore the use of drones to help fix local roads.

Change pothole cash rules to protect riders

09/06/2021

A local government insurer has called for council pothole funding to give greater focus to cycle paths and footways to protect cyclists and e-scooter riders.

Road funding will be cut by more than a fifth this year, warn council chiefs

24/05/2021

Councils have warned they face a £400m reduction in local road maintenance budgets this year.

Pothole figures 'a watershed moment'

20/04/2021

Drivers are having to use roads that often ‘resemble the surface of the Moon’, the RAC has said after revealing a 37% year-on-year rise in pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2021.

Cost to fix pothole-ridden local roads £10.24bn

31/03/2021

The estimated one-time cost to get local roads in England and Wales back into a ‘reasonable, steady state’ is £10.24bn, according to this year’s ALARM survey.

Welsh councils get £12m to improve local roads

24/03/2021

The Welsh Government has announced an extra £12m for local authorities to 'fix potholes and improve roads, pavements and active travel routes' across the country.

Councils allocated £500m to fix ten million potholes

15/02/2021

Councils have been allocated £500m from the Government's £2.5bn Potholes Fund.

Eight in ten council say pothole crisis has worsened in five years

15/01/2021

More than eight out of ten local authorities say the pothole crisis has worsened over the last five years, according to the results of a new survey.

Drivers most concerned over potholes, report warns

14/12/2020

More than half of drivers believe the condition of local roads has deteriorated in the past year despite the drop in car use due to the pandemic.

Robotics to be deployed in battle against potholes

27/10/2020

The University of Liverpool has launched a spin out company which will drive the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics to detect potholes and road cracks.

Delivery companies to help map potholes

28/08/2020

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has launched what his department called a first-of-its-kind audit into the mapping of potholes in England ‘to better target improvements so that roads are in top condition as people return to work and school’.

Thousands of cars damaged by potholes during lockdown

16/07/2020

Nearly two thousands drivers had their vehicles damaged by potholes during locakdown despite road traffic plummeting, according to the RAC.

A fifth of people would pay more council tax to fix potholes

03/07/2020

A fifth of people would be prepare to pay an extra 10% in council tax to help cover the cost of road improvements, a new poll has shown.

Local roads get £1.7bn funding boost

15/05/2020

The Government has pledged £1.7bn to repair local roads and tackle 11 million potholes.

Local roads backlog exceeds £11bn, survey warns

24/03/2020

The average local authority is facing a shortfall of £4.9m to repair and maintain local roads, new research has shown.

Only 10% of councils meeting their pothole repair deadlines

16/03/2020

Only one in 10 local authorities are meeting their own target times to fix potholes and other road defects, new research has revealed today.

Budget: £27bn for national roads and £2.5bn for potholes

11/03/2020

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) will spend over £27bn between 2020 and 2025 and pledged an extra £2.5bn for local road maintenance in the Budget.

Councils awarded share of £93m fund to repair potholes

02/03/2020

Local authorities are to be awarded a share of a multi-million pound funding pot to repair roads and bridges, the Government has announced.

Pothole breakdowns fall as Beast impact fades

15/01/2020

The RAC attended significantly fewer breakdowns for pothole-related faults in 2019 than the previous year, despite a surge in the last quarter.

County motorists 'poor relation' to major cities

13/01/2020

Shire county authorities are failing to receive a ‘fair share’ of funding for roads with London receiving three times higher investment, new analysis has found today.

DfT supports long-term funding proposal to tackle ‘plague of potholes’

28/10/2019

Local authority leaders have welcomed a Department for Transport commitment to a longer-term funding settlement which could help councils tackle the ‘plague of potholes’ on local roads.

Councils received 700,000 pothole complaints last year

14/08/2019

Local authorities received 700,000 complaints last year about ptoholes and other road defects, new figures have revealed.

Welsh council trials ‘less expensive’ pothole repair method

14/08/2019

A trial of a new plastic-based substance to help councils fix potholes has found that it could be faster, cleaner and less expensive.

Funding cuts could have paid for eight million pothole repairs, council chiefs say

08/07/2019

Council leaders have called for more cash after calculating money cut from road funding budgets over the last decade could have fixed millions of potholes.

MPs call for five-year funding to tackle 'plague of potholes'

01/07/2019

Councils should receive a front-loaded, five-year funding settlement to repair local roads, MPs have argued today.

Projects to develop new highways tech are launched

31/05/2019

A £22.9m programme has been launched with eight local authorities to develop new ways of building roads.

Potholes in pavements preventing more older people from walking

01/05/2019

Cracked and uneven pavements are stopping nearly one in three (31%) older people from walking on their local streets, according to a new survey.

Grayling launches £200m pothole fund

01/04/2019

Councils in England will be given a share of more than £200m for road maintenance and pothole repairs, transport secretary Chris Grayling has announced.

Report finds disparities in highways maintenance funding

26/03/2019

An increase in local authority highways maintenance budgets is helping to stem the decline in local roads, a new report has found.

Council chiefs welcome pothole consultation

06/03/2019

Local government leaders have welcomed a Government consultation on utility firms’ roadworks guarantee, but warned it does not address the repairs backlog.

Councils paying out £8,800 per cyclist in pothole compensation

04/03/2019

Councils are paying out an average of £8,800 per cyclist in pothole compensation claims, a new investigation has revealed.

Pothole compensation costs councils nearly £3m a year

13/02/2019

Councils paid £2.8m to drivers for damage caused by potholes in 2017/18, new figures have revealed.

Multi-million funding boost to prevent potholes

31/01/2019

The Government has announced a £23m funding boost to develop new technology that can stop potholes from forming.

RAC reports drop in pothole-related breakdowns

29/01/2019

The last quarter of last year saw one of the lowest percentage shares of Winter pothole-related faults on record, according to the RAC.

Council investigates using ‘smart’ cars to detect potholes

22/01/2019

Oxfordshire County Council could be rolling out ‘smart’ cars to help detect potholes quickly.

Councils take ‘risk-based’ approach to filling in potholes

18/01/2019

Councils are increasingly adopting a ‘risk-based’ approach to filling in potholes, an analysis of council response times to calls about road defects has found.

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