Cuts and climate change drive potholes to record-high

January 24: Round Our Way launched new research showing the impact the changing climate and council cuts have on the state of British roads. Potholes are at a 5-year high and have grown significantly in the last year due in part to our increased storms and floods.

The research was featured on BBC Breakfast, BBC News at 1 and 6 pm, BBC Scotland’s The Nine, BBC News online, various regional and local radio stations and national and local newspapers.

Round Our Way pothole media coverage

Use our map to see the situation in your area:

The conditions that lead to potholes – water, traffic and freeze-thaw cycles – can be made worse by extreme weather due to climate change, which has been increasing – in 2023 the UK recorded its hottest June on record, followed by its 6th wettest July. More recently, October saw Storm Babet bring torrential rain to many parts of the country, followed by late November’s snow and ice, for example. Meanwhile, investment in road repairs has been falling. Research from the Local Government Association has found that national cuts to council funding means the UK now spends less on local road repairs than many other major countries including France, the US and Japan.  

Round Our Way supported Caroline from County Durham to tell her story about breaking two bones in her arm a pothole threw her from her bike.

Round Our Way sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every local authority responsible for local roads in Britain with 62.5% (130 councils) providing data and 55.3% (115 councils) providing data for the last five years (2018-2023). The analysis used the data collected and projections for where data was not available to calculate figures for December 2023 as well as for the local authorities who did not provide data.

Roger Harding, Director of Round Our Way:

“Potholes are the bane of many of our lives and put drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians at risk of serious injury. The weather extremes that climate change brings are sadly creating many more of them at a time when cuts mean repairs are already not keeping up.

 “No one should have to risk injury or breakdown to get from A to B locally. More investment is needed in repairs and new materials, but we also need politicians to get serious about tackling the climate change that is increasingly causing potholes in the first place.”

Dr Benyi Cao, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Surrey, said:

“This analysis highlighting the alarming rise in the number of potholes across UK in 2023 is deeply concerning. Climate change, with its associated increase in extreme weather conditions, could potentially worsen the pothole situation.

“The increased rainfall and flooding due to climate change can lead to more water seeping into the pavement, accelerating the deterioration process. In fact, the UK has been experiencing more intense and frequent rainfall events in recent years, which can significantly contribute to the formation of potholes.”

For the full details on this research, please download our report.

Table of comparable council data available here. For Scotland, the most up-to-date data is here.

If you want to embed this map on your site, use the following code and credit Round Our Way. Change the width and height as you require.

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