Derbyshire ranked worst region for potholes in UK, RAC study reveals

Derbyshire has the highest number of potholes per region in the UK, new data has revealed.

The county has 90,596 potholes – followed by Lancashire with 67,439 and Northumberland with 51,703, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from the Liberal Democrats to the RAC has found.

The same request revealed that Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire has the longest average wait time of 657 days to fix individual potholes.

The city is followed by Westminster, with a 556-day average wait and Norfolk with 482 days.

John Anderson, a pothole campaigner from Staffordshire, says he was not surprised to learn that the worst affected regions were in the Midlands.

He said: "We dodge potholes, we do a slalom everywhere we go. There's a lot of damage done to vehicles and some of it is dangerous. If a car is damaged, potentially you're at risk of having a severe accident."

"We expect better service than this from our councils and our government. We need our MPs to fight for this," he added.

"All we ever hear is 'there's this much extra [money] put into potholes' and at the end of it we've still got potholes. People have come to the conclusion that it's all hot air."

Mr Anderson says when potholes are repaired, it is to "such a poor standard that weeks or a few months later they're back again".

An RAC spokesperson said: “Drivers won’t be surprised to hear pothole-related breakdowns are at their highest level for five years due to several spells of well below average temperatures interspersed with some very wet conditions last winter.

"These conditions led to water getting into cracks, freezing and expanding which caused road surfaces to deteriorate rapidly as vehicles drove over them. But despite these perfect pothole-forming conditions, it’s also important to note that last winter wasn’t particularly harsh which demonstrates very clearly just how fragile our local roads really are.

“The fact councils are paying out money to drivers whose vehicles suffered pothole damage is another damning indictment of the state of our roads. In an ideal world where roads are in a fit-for-purpose state they wouldn’t need to be doing this at all."

Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, says the council is "working hard to improve" the condition of the county's roads.

She said: “Last year we fixed 100,000 potholes and (as of the 20th August) we’ve filled over 67,000 potholes.

“The pothole statistics above show we are pushing to fill an extraordinary number of potholes each year, and this can sometimes be misinterpreted, as was highlighted earlier this year by Cllr Lewis.

"The data between authorities also isn’t comparable (as recognised by the Department for Transport) and doesn’t give an accurate picture.

"The Derbyshire data, unlike other council areas, includes many miles of minor B and C roads as well as motorways and A roads which are looked after by National Highways, not us."

Derbyshire County Council has invested £120million into resurfacing roads and pavements in the region.

The council is also investing £1million into a residential road repair programme, targeting 124 streets using micro-asphalt to seal and smooth the road surface ahead of winter.

Cllr Amjid Wazir, cabinet member for environment and enforcement at Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "We pledged to review the way the council carries out pothole repairs. Our teams work incredibly hard, and the Pothole Pro machine is making a big difference in helping teams to carry out more repairs, more quickly and to a high standard.

"Stoke-on-Trent City Council is responsible for 1014km of highway, which is the equivalent distance to Zurich, Switzerland. Pothole repairs have to be prioritised according to public safety.

"In 2022/23 we repaired 3240 potholes. Once a pothole report is received, the team assesses them on urgency and safety, and repairs are carried out within an appropriate timescale.

"Stoke-on-Trent City Council stores all data connected to reported defects and potholes, we are aware that many other Local Authorities only register those that meet the criteria for repair. This will have clear impacts on any statistical information collected, as each authority records data differently."

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