A Labour council has repaired just a mile of potholed road out of 136 miles that need repairing, shocking new data has revealed.
Analysis from the Department of Transport (DfT) has found that the seaside city of Plymouth is the worst performing in the UK when it comes to fixing a the potentially damaging highway hazards.
The Telegraph reports that more than a quarter of 136 miles worth of roads needed maintenance but only 0.7% of that figure was repaired in 2024, the equivalent of just one mile.
Potholes can cause serious damage to vehicle suspensions and tyres, as well as posing a tripping risk to pedestrians and a danger to cyclists.
Plymouth City Council disputes the DfT findings and claims it has carried out extensive pre-patching/prep work to fix potholes which could not be submitted with its data.
Local motorist Chloe told The Telegraph there was “always something up” with her suspension because of the Plymouth pothole plague.
She said: “They told me at my MOT that parts of my suspension are going. I’m a great driver but there’s only so much you can do if you’re constantly diving into potholes, especially down these roads where you don’t have room to drive around them.
“If you go anywhere in Plymouth, you can find a pothole.”
Local media reports the council is set to receive an extra £1.175 million in funding to tackle the pothole problem, which it’s claimed could be used to fill more than 16,000 of the carriageway craters.
Izak Lee, 22, a mechanic at Stadium Garage, in Plymouth, told The Telegraph “customers are always blaming the potholes” when they bring in vehicles for repair.
He said: “It can be punctures, alloy wheels snapping or cracking, link pins, they go all the time, or coil pins. I do seem to find Plymouth has a lot of potholes.”
Plymouth City Council told PlymouthLive it had been trialling a new machine, which carries out permanent, durable repairs at a fraction of the cost with no excavation, no waste and no heat involved.
It means that often there is no need for road closures and repairs are ready to drive on in minutes.
Two machines carried out more than 8,000 repairs for the same cost as 1,200 traditional repair techniques. The spokesperson said: “This system of spray injection patching allows us to focus on preventing defects forming.”
The Labour-led council said its highway budgets were reduced in 2023/24 under the previous Tory administration and the surface dressing process was increased to make the most efficient use of the budget compared to the traditional resurfacing works.
The spokesperson said: “We continue to deliver this arrangement across Plymouth and see a reduction on both pot holes and surface degradation.”
Analysis of the DfT data showed Norfolk County Council was found to be among the best in the UK with 92% of the 225 miles identified for repair being fixed between 2023//24.