Probe exposes how councils refuse to repair potholes for being too small

Local authorities are taking bewilderingly polarised approaches to classifying potholes, a new investigation has exposed.

The RAC and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme found that whether potholes get fixed or not depends entirely on the council’s own criteria. And the yardstick for what is deemed requiring repair can be wildly different from one region to another. 

The probe found that a third of councils will only fix potholes when they reach a specific depth, irrelevant of how wide they are.

This means many dangerous potholes go unrepaired, posing a continuous risk to road users – especially those on two wheels.

*Find your council in the interactive chart below to find out the size and depth requirements to fix potholes in your area

Out of 206 councils approached by the motoring group, just 76 (37 per cent) said they take a ‘risk-based approach’ to deciding which potholes to fix and how quickly. 

However, what this ‘risk-based approach’ entails is anyone’s guess, as none of the 76 authorities provided much information to explain their decision making.

Incredibly, three-in-10 councils (29 per cent) don’t state any public criteria for repairing potholes.

This varied approach to repairing potholes is causing an enormous frustration for those road users who report potholes to local authorities having suffered vehicle damage or personal injury having driven or ridden through them.

Potholes will often simply left to get bigger before they are deemed large enough by the elusive criteria to merit repair.

A report by trade body Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) published in March put the bill for pothole-related compensation claims at £15.2 million. The AIA put the average cost of filling a pothole at £72.26, up from £66.54 in 2023.

Among the 35 per cent of councils (71) that say they’ll only act on potholes if they meet certain barometers – the most common depth stated is 4cm (by 54 councils).

But for unlucky road users in Warwickshire, Torbay, Thurrock, Nottingham, Torfaen and South Lanarkshire, potholes must be at least 5cm deep before roadworkers are sent out to fill it.

And you’ll need a sheet of paper on hand to know whether a pothole is worth reporting to the council for repair if you live in Buckinghamshire, Stockport and Devon. 

These three are among 13 councils that state a pothole must be 30cm wide – the length of A4 – and 4cm deep to be fixed.

The RAC is concerned that the use of specific size-based criteria could be a way of ‘kicking the can down the road’ and avoiding repairing potholes.

It’s calling on ‘Whitehall to provide fresh guidance to councils to bring about consistency when it comes to prioritising potholes and taking action to fix them,’ as reports surface of councils dodging compensation claims on repair technicalities.

RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said: ‘We’re concerned that some councils are refusing compensation claims from drivers who have damaged their cars from potholes, by stating they already have them scheduled for repair – even if that repair isn’t due for months.’

Cllr Darren Rodwell, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, responded to the investigation saying councils are ‘on the side of all road users’ and want to focus on ‘properly resurfacing our roads’, including tackling the £16.3billion backlog of road repairs.

‘Many factors affect repair rates, such as the road profile, traffic levels and available budgets,’ Rodwell said. 

‘Councils would much prefer to focus on preventative repairs but only greater, year-on-year long-term funding certainty for maintaining all parts of our highways will help them achieve this.

‘The Government should award council Highways Departments five-yearly funding allocations, on a par with National Highways, to give them more certainty to develop resurfacing programmes and other improvements to help prevent potholes in the first place.’

The investigation’s findings follow a report from Citroen last month that similarly found a lack of standardised national approach to reporting, measuring and repairing potholes.

The French car maker said this is causing a postcode lottery for road-repair responses in the UK.

Citroen submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) to local authorities across England, Scotland, and Wales, which also showed there is no centralised government policy to follow.

Councils in England and Wales are only required only to complete repairs within a ‘timely manner’ according to the Highways Act 1980. 

As well as difference width and depth criteria that determines fixing rates, Citroen revealed the repair timeframe differs massively: Barnsley Council has two categories of repair timeframes ranging from 24 hours to one month, compared to Warrington Council which has seven, allowing potholes to remain on roads for up to 40 days until addressed.

The RAC similarly observed little consistency: East Riding Council is a shining example of pothole management, using a risk-based approach to repairing road defects. It inspects all reported potholes within 24 hours, fixing the most urgent within the same timeframe, and then clearly sets out how it prioritises repairing the rest.

In complete contrast, Redcar and Cleveland Council doesn’t appear to have a single page on its website even referencing potholes, nor an ability for people to report them online.

Citroen’s managing director at the UK department of the French car firm, Greg Taylor expressed kindred worries: ‘The lack of consistency around the way councils report and tackle potholes allows room for even greater numbers of essential road repairs to fall through the gaps, leaving more motorists at risk.’ 

*The War on Britain’s Motorists: Dispatches airs Thursday 23 May at 8pm on Channel 4 .