Pothole plague blighting the lives of millions of motorists nears £17billion - and is getting worse

A new study finds the the scourge of potholes is getting worse, costing local authorities a huge packet in compensation claims, while the estimated bill to fill all of Britain's potholes nears £17bn

The estimated bill for filling all the pothole plagued roads in England and Wales has jumped to a record high of nearly £17billion, according to a report.

Chronic under-funding of local authorities has left many highways cracked and pot marked and a danger to drivers, motorbikers, cyclists and other road users. Over the past decade, 17.5million potholes have been filled in England and Wales – the equivalent of one filled every 18 seconds, every day. In that time, more than £20bn has been spent on carriageway maintenance. But it has been not nearly enough to tackle what has become an ever worsening situation.

A report by trade body the Asphalt Industry Alliance found it would cost local authorities - which manage 97% of carriageways in England and Wales - £16.8bn to bring the roads they look after up to an ideal condition, with the work taking 12 years to complete.

In the past 10 years, this backlog figure has increased by 42%, from £11.8bn, according to the AIA’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) report, which is based on widespread feedback from councils. The research found 1.9million potholes have been filled at a cost of £137.4million in the last financial year. Rotten road surfaces are among drivers’ biggest bugbears, with most having had experienced them.

Recent examples include a huge pothole in a busy dual carriageway that badly damaged at least 70 cars in a week. The 4ft long gorge appeared on the left side of the westbound lane of the A35 at Shipton Gorge, Dorset late last month following heavy rain. A mechanic at a nearby garage said he had “never seen anything like it” when car after car limped in with flat tyres and damaged wheels.

Potholes can also land local authorities with big payouts. The average number of claims received by councils in England and Wales fell by 2.6% to 410 each last year. However, the amount paid out on compensation jumped 30% to £19.7m, a figure almost matched by staff costs to deal with claims.

David Giles, who chairs the AIA, said: “Almost all local authorities have told us that, in their opinion, there has been no improvement to their network over the last year, with 65% stating that conditions have declined: a view no doubt shared by road users.”

Much of the blame has been put on the short-term nature of local authority funding from central government, making it hard for councils to budget. Mr Giles questioned why local authorities are not given the five-year funding decisions that National Highways benefits from to manage motorways and major A roads in England.

As well as the weather, potholes can also be caused by roads being dug up for pipe laying or other works, and not being repaired properly.

According the report, the average road in England and Wales is only fully resurfaced every 93 years. That ranges from every 25 years on busy roads in London through to once every 225 years - almost never - on unclassified (typically rural lanes) in Wales.

Edmund King, president of motoring group the AA, said a “dismal two steps forward, three steps back” approach is being taken to tackling the “pothole-plague”. He went on: “The UK is nowhere close to getting out of this rut.”

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the figures “paint a bleak picture of the state of the nation’s roads” and confirm that “in far too many parts of the country road surfaces are simply not fit for purpose”. He added: “The lack of investment in our roads is a false economy as it just leads to bigger repair costs in the future - something local authorities can ill afford. In the meantime, all road users continue to pay the price with uncomfortable journeys, avoidable breakdowns and repair bills that they only incur because potholes are so bad.”

Common problems caused by potholes include damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels. Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards at road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, warned that potholes are “an expensive headache” for drivers but pose “a serious road safety hazard” for those on two wheels such as cyclists and motorbike riders.

Local roads maintenance funding for England provided by the government in the 2025/26 financial year will be nearly £1.6bn, representing a £500m uplift compared with the previous 12 months.

Adam Hug, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents local authorities, said: “It is no surprise to councils that the local roads repair backlog continues to rise, given inflation and huge demand pressures on local government statutory services. The funding increase in the last Budget was positive and must now be followed by a commitment in the spending review to a long-term financial package to tackle this backlog and put it into reverse.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague, which is why we’re investing £1.6bn to help local authorities resurface local roads and fix the equivalent of up to seven million extra potholes over the next financial year. We want to achieve this in the most cost-efficient way for the taxpayer by providing local authorities with multi-year funding settlements, enabling them to better maintain their road networks and avoid potholes being formed in the first place.”