More than £3 million spent in 12 months on repairing potholes in West Northamptonshire, figures reveal

Data has revealed how much was spent on repairing potholes in West Northamptonshire in 12 months, as well as how many potholes were reported to the council.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by this newspaper asked West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) how much was spent on repairing potholes in the 12 months from November 1, 2021 and November 1, 2022.

A huge £3 million was spent on repairing potholes in the unitary area and further almost £6,000 was paid out in compensation due to pothole related incidents.

The data

662 carriageway potholes were reported to West Northamptonshire Council

95 footway potholes were reported to West Northamptonshire Council

14,155 carriageway defects were repaired by West Northamptonshire Council and/or a contractor of the council

3,822 footway defects were repaired by West Northamptonshire Council and/or a contractor of the council

A total of more 17,977 potholes were repaired compared to 18,858 repaired in the year from November 2020 to November 2021.

The wards with the most pothole reports

Bugbrooke: 57 (footway eight and carriageway 49)

Braunston and Crick: 50 (footway three and carriageway 47)

Silverstone: 50 (footway one and carriageway 49)

Brixworth: 46 (footway four and carriageway 42)

Long Buckby: 43 (footway three and carriageway 40)

Brackley: 37 (eight footway and 29 carriageway)

Woodford and Weedon: 36 (footway two and carriageway 34)

Hackleton and Grange Park: 33 (footway two and carriageway 31)

Boothville and parklands: 30 (three footway and 27 carriageway)

Daventry: 29 (footway four and carriageway 29)

How much money did West Northamptonshire Council spend on potholes

(This data relates to November 1, 2021 to September 11, 2022 as the council says data from September 11 is not yet available)

Carriageway reactive: £35,498

Routine carriageway: £2,691,651

Footway reactive: £15, 787

Footway routine: £328,264

In total more than £3 million was spent on repairing potholes up to September 11, 2022.

In addition, a further £5,579.09 was paid out in compensation in relation to incidents connected to potholes in West Northamptonshire, compared to £59,776.12 between November 2020 to November 2021.

What an expert makes of the data

Mark Morrell, also known as Mr Pothole, is a former councillor and former Mayor of Brackley who has campaigned nationwide for several years for more to be done to keep the country's road surfaces in good repair.

Reflecting on the data, he said: “The backdrop is not very good. They [WNC] inherited a massive problem from Northamptonshire County Council and then there is the issue of cost of materials. They started in a terrible position and it has got worse.

“I know they are trying to make improvements and they are trying to spend more on planned works rather than reactive works as that is where the money is better spent.

“There is a situation with demand on social care and everything else, so local councils are not in a good place and many councils rely on central Government to keep the road network safe, but they cut funding.

“They’re not spending enough money and if this carries on they will have to close roads to keep them safe.”

In the draft budget for 2023-2024, the council also plans to carry out a capital investment programme of £12.2 million to improve roads, including £4.7 million towards mending potholes.