More than half of councils have less cash to spend on fixing potholes than five years ago

• Cycling UK’s Pothole Watch campaign runs from 01 to 07 March, highlighting the need for investment in local roads and calling on the public to report road defects
• Only 7% of councils filled every reported pothole within their target time
• As overall highway spending increases, maintenance of local roads, which account for the majority of journeys, is getting left behind
• Latest estimates suggest the cost of fixing England’s pothole problem has risen to £10.4bn

More than half of local authorities in Britain have seen their budget for road maintenance fall in real terms over the past five years, according to research published today by Cycling UK.

The figures, released to mark the national cycling charity’s Pothole Watch campaign, which runs from March 1 to 7, highlight the lack of funding to deal with the ever-worsening state of Britain’s roads, meaning that just one in 14 councils are now able to meet their own target repair times for fixing potholes. The charity is calling on the public to report holes and other road defects they spot while out on essential journeys by using the interactive map on its Fill That Hole website, www.fillthathole.org.uk.

Out of 82 local authorities that responded to Cycling UK’s Freedom of Information requests, just six stated that they repaired 100% of reported potholes within their self-imposed target times over the past five years. One third of councils (27) met their targets less than 75% of the time. The worst performing council was Bristol, which met its target time on just 15% of repairs. Cumbria, West Lothian and Renfrewshire also filled less than half of identified potholes on time.

Out of 112 councils that responded to enquiries about pothole maintenance budgets, 65 (58%) reported a decrease in budget from 2016/17 to 2020/21, when adjusted for inflation.  

The most recent data from the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) show that in 2020 it would have cost £10.42bn to bring roads up to standard across England alone – up from £8.99bn the previous year, indicating that the Department for Transport’s road maintenance funding Is not keeping pace with requirements. Meanwhile, the Government is still pushing ahead with its planned £27bn investment in a small number of A roads and motorways, which is currently facing a legal challenge.

With 68% of journeys in the UK being less than five miles, Cycling UK says while local roads are the backbone of our transport network, investment is continuing to stagnate in favour of spending on major routes, with predictable results. As well as causing £1.25bn worth of damage to vehicles each year, potholes put the lives of vulnerable road users in danger: since 2016, 10 cyclist deaths and 178 serious injuries have been attributed to road defects in Great Britain.

“Our findings sadly confirm that government investment in pothole repairs is doing as much good as a sticking plaster on a broken leg,” said Keir Gallagher, the charity’s campaigns manager.

“With a majority of councils seeing their pothole budgets shrinking in real terms over the past five years, it’s time for the Government to commit to ‘levelling up’ the local roads we all use every day, whether we’re walking, cycling, or driving. 

“Instead, by investing £27bn in the strategic roads network in England, when less than half of that could fix every pothole in the country, the Government is prioritising a minority of road users and abandoning the rest of us to dangerous pothole dodging every time we leave the house.”

While Cycling UK would like to see proper funding from central government to allow local councils to maintain our roads properly, Mr Gallagher is also calling on the public to do their bit in alerting them to problems in the first place. “On average, there is one defect for every 110 metres of road in the UK. Reporting and getting those potholes fixed by your local authority is easy using the Fill That Hole’s interactive map and app, at www.fillthathole.org.uk.”

ENDS