AA-led Pothole Partnership calls for permanent repairs over patching

A newly formed partnership led by the AA has released a five-point plan to help deal with the growing issue of potholes on UK roads.

The Pothole Partnership, featuring the AA, JCB, British Cycling and National Motorcyclists Council, has been created as the latest AA Pothole Index shows car damage in 2023 due to the poor condition of roads is the worst it’s been for five years. The AA estimates potholes caused almost £475M of damage to vehicles in 2023.

The research, released on National Pothole Day, shows that the AA dealt with 631,852 incidents of tyre, wheel, steering, and suspension damaged by potholes in 2023 and extrapolating up to account for all road users this equates to roughly 2M vehicles affected by poor road maintenance in 2023, according to the AA. This is an increase of 16% when compared to 2022.

As the first point on its five-point plan, the partnership is urging local authorities to limit the practice of temporary pothole repairs or patches and, where possible, every pothole or patch to be repaired permanently.

It is also calling for all local authorities and contractors to adhere to UK-wide repair and inspection standards, and report annually on the repairs undertaken, and also for government to demonstrate greater urgency by accelerating and increasing spending of the £8.3bn pothole funding for England in the first three years.

This additional spending is part of the investment announced for roads maintenance following the cancellation of the northern leg of High Speed 2. While the partnership welcomes this extra funding commitment, it wants the money to be ring-fenced and for expenditure to be increased in the early years and used more effectively.

The Pothole Partnership would also like to see central and local government to guarantee the ringfencing of all road maintenance funding to help deliver innovations that enable permanent repairs. Its further calls for full transparency from local authorities on their roads repair backlog, categorised by potholes, patching works and road resurfacing.

AA president Edmund King said, “Last year AA patrols dealt with more than 600,000 pothole-related incidents which on a national scale will have cost drivers almost half a billion pounds.

“What we need are more permanent repairs. Potholes are the number one concern for 96% of drivers and can be fatal for those on two wheels so hopefully pressure from the Pothole Partnership will lead to permanent repairs.”

Local Government Association transport spokesperson Darren Rodwell said, “Councils share the concerns of all road users with the state of our roads and are doing all they can to tackle the £14bn backlog of road repairs, including learning from and adopting innovative techniques.

“Greater, long-term and year-on-year consistency of funding for the maintenance of all parts of our highways will help them achieve this.

“The Government should award council Highways Departments five-yearly funding allocations, to bring them on a par with National Highways, to give more certainty so they can develop resurfacing programmes and other highways improvements, to help them tackle the scourge of potholes.”

National Motorcyclists Council executive director Craig Carey-Clinch said “The same pothole that damages a car, could prove fatal to a rider. Action is needed now to urgently clear the backlog of repairs. The National Motorcyclists Council fully supports the Pothole Partnership and urges the government to front load the £8.3bn that has been announced. The problem is now, not in seven or nine years time.”

JCB general manager Ben Rawding said “JCB is delighted to be part of the Pothole Partnership, a group committed to fixing Britain’s roads. Tackling the national backlog of potholes properly will involve investment in innovation and new technologies to ensure permanent fixes, not temporary repairs. Britain’s motorists, motorcyclists and cyclists deserve nothing less."