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. |
Potholes ‘wreak havoc’ with drivers
12/10/2018 A lack of sufficient funding to maintain local roads means potholes are ‘wreaking havoc’ with drivers, motoring body says. |
Gloucestershire appoints Ringway to deliver £245m infrastructure contract
25/09/2018 Gloucestershire County Council has appointed Ringway Infrastructure Services to deliver a new multi-million pound highways maintenance contract for the county. |
Whitehall not doing ‘nearly enough’ to tackle pothole epidemic
24/08/2018 The Government is not doing ‘nearly enough’ to improve the state of the roads in the UK, road users say. |
Council faces legal action over pothole death
10/08/2018 Warwickshire County Council is facing possible legal action after delays in repairing a pothole led to the death of a cyclist. |
Pothole-related breakdowns hit ‘three-year high’
16/07/2018 Local authority leaders have called for more funding for local road maintenance as second quarter pothole-related breakdowns hit a three-year high. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.