Vehicle pothole repair bill hits record high

Long-term investment is needed on roads in the South East after the total cost of fixing vehicles damaged by a "pothole plague" hit a record high, says a county council.

New figures from the AA show the overall UK repair bill for affected cars in 2024 was £579m - up from £474m the year before and the highest total on record.

And the RAC warned the issue may worsen this year due to the cold and wet winter so far.

Describing the road maintenance work it carries out as "relentless", Kent County Council (KCC) said it invested "more than £50 million a year in the local network" and called for "a dramatic increase in highway funding over a long period".

It has been estimated that the cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch is around £16.3bn.

And while KCC said "significant progress" had been made thanks to its own pothole blitz programme which began in March 2024, Neil Baker, cabinet member for highways and transport, added "the number of defects reported on the roads continues to be exceptionally high".

Calling potholes "a symptom of decades of significant underfunding in roads by central government across the UK", he said he wanted "long-term road investment" via "a fully-funded resurfacing and rebuilding programme laid out over decades".

Surrey County Council said its priority was to keep the roads safe and that it responded "immediately to potholes that could be a danger to road-users".

Meanwhile, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) said it had seen an increase in potholes in recent years due to the "more severe weather".

It said it prioritised repairs to potholes presenting the greatest risk and it had invested in preventative maintenance schemes, such as resurfacing and surface dressing.

The government announced East Sussex would receive up to £21m for highways maintenance over this financial year.

A ESCC spokesperson said while this funding was "welcomed", it estimated it would cost £300m to repair all the worst sections of roads in the county".

Common problems caused by potholes include damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

The AA said there was actually a slight fall in the number of pothole incidents in 2024, which dropped from 647,690 in 2023 to 643,318.

But the increase in fixing vehicles happened because of a leap in average repair bills, which went from £250 in 2023 to £300 in 2024.

The AA attributed the rise to a combination of inflation, more advanced technology in cars and shortages of spare parts.

To mark National Pothole Day on Wednesday, campaign group Pothole Partnership urged councils to prioritise permanent resurfacing and repairs over "patch and run policies" which often lead to potholes reappearing.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said there was some "light at the end of the pothole tunnel".

The government was "beginning to instigate policies that should lead to longer term fixes rather than the recent patchwork approach", he said.

The RAC said it received 17% more pothole-related callouts between October and December than in the previous three months.

Potholes are often formed when water freezes and expands after entering cracks in the road surface.

The RAC warned that the issue could worsen this year because of recent severe weather, which led to one of its busiest periods for breakdowns in the past five years.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said: "For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague, which is why we're investing a further £50om next year to help fill seven million more potholes."

A spokesperson added its "record" settlement will "ensure councils get their fair share and can get on with the work to fill potholes and resurface roads".

With additional reporting from PA Media

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