Massive sums spent filling potholes – how much 61 | U.Okay.Finance News
Motorists are being left to endure on Britain’s crater-ridden roads whereas councils spend hundreds of thousands – as a result of they’ll’t agree on how to repair a pothole.Shocking new analysis has revealed that some native authorities are spending seventeen occasions more than others on repairing the exact same street defect – and it’s costing taxpayers dearly.A Freedom of Information request to 284 councils by French car maker Citroen – which has long referred to as for reform – exposes the astonishing postcode lottery in pothole restore prices, with some councils shelling out more than £650 per pothole, whereas others spend much less than the price of a meal deal.According to Citroen’s information, if all councils adopted probably the most environment friendly restore price, a jaw-dropping 33.3 million additional potholes may have been stuffed in 2024 alone – sparing drivers from 1000’s of kilos in car injury, delays and distress.Instead, simply 1.89 million potholes have been stuffed final yr – at a reported average price of £72.37 every – leaving hundreds of thousands of street customers at risk and native budgets haemorrhaging money.Citroen warns councils could possibly be losing up to £1.23 billion yearly on inefficient repairs, and referred to as on the Government to urgently introduce a standardised, nationwide strategy to sort out the UK’s decaying street community.The figures come sizzling on the heels of the 2025 ALARM report, which revealed that more than half of Britain’s roads have fewer than 15 years of structural life left. It would now price £16.81 billion to carry our roads back to the perfect situation.“This isn’t just a matter of budgets – it’s a matter of safety,” stated a Citroen spokesperson. “With such wide disparity in spending and strategy, millions of drivers are at the mercy of a postcode pothole lottery.”The most excessive instance? Shetland Islands Council, which spent a whopping £656 per pothole in 2024. That’s more than 158 occasions the associated fee of Cardiff Council’s £4.13 per restore, probably the most environment friendly within the UK.Incredibly, if the whole nation repaired potholes at Cardiff’s price, final yr’s national restore invoice would drop from £1.2 billion to simply £7.8 million – releasing up funds to repair hundreds of thousands more craters.If Shetland used Cardiff’s methodology, it may have fixed 9 occasions as many potholes final yr.The councils below fire: highest & lowest spenders HIGHEST SPEND PER SINGLE PLANNED POTHOLE REPAIR (2024)Council Cost per PotholeShetland Islands Council £656Shropshire Council £654Coventry City Council £633.90Argyl and Bute Council £513.01North Lanarkshire Council £479.78LOWEST SPEND PER SINGLE PLANNED POTHOLE REPAIR (2024)Council Cost per PotholeCardiff Council £4.13Rotherham MBC £18.06London Borough of Southwark £34.75East Riding of Yorkshire £35Worcestershire County Council £43.27Source: Citroen FOI to 284 councils throughout GB – 145 responded, 61 offered comparable informationThe figures have reignited requires a national pothole taskforce to sort out what has change into a scandalous waste of taxpayer money and an on a regular basis hazard for motorists.Last yr, a joint RAC and Channel 4 Dispatches investigation uncovered the wildly totally different requirements native authorities apply when deciding whether or not to restore a pothole – some reportedly gained’t act except it’s deeper than 40mm, others act at simply 20mm.Full listing of councils – how much your council spends
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