National Pothole Day: Flintshire among UK’s slowest councils for pothole repair
Flintshire County Council has been named among the slowest local authorities in England and Wales for repairing potholes, according to new research published on National Pothole Day (15 January).
Figures from Go.Compare show the council took an average of 46.3 days to repair potholes between 2022 and 2024.
That ranks Flintshire fifth slowest nationally, behind Staffordshire, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent, and Hammersmith and Fulham.
The comparison site submitted freedom of information requests to 171 councils to analyse repair times.
Staffordshire County Council was found to have the slowest average time at 209.6 days, while Coventry City Council averaged 82.3 days and Stoke-on-Trent 72 days.
In contrast, some councils complete repairs within a day.
Gwynedd and Blaenau Gwent in Wales, and Waltham Forest in London, were among those reporting the fastest average repair times.
The data also found that three Welsh authorities, Flintshire, Ceredigion, and Caerphilly, feature among the ten slowest councils for pothole repairs.
Ceredigion averaged 37.2 days and Caerphilly 34.5 days.
A separate study by Go.Compare has found that around half of Welsh councils are rejecting most pothole compensation claims, despite ongoing issues with repair timeliness.
Potholes remain one of drivers’ top concerns.
According to the research, more than a third of motorists (35%) say they are worried about encountering potholes when driving.
Tom Banks, spokesperson for Go.Compare car insurance, said: “Potholes have long been the bane of the country’s drivers, so we’ve marked National Pothole Day by looking into which places are lagging behind when it comes to repairs. The results show a significant disparity in repair times across the country, with some places performing much better than others when it comes to managing repairs.
“There can be lots of reasons for this. Things like budgets, workforces and road networks will all vary in size between different councils, especially between those at different levels like borough, city and county. It’s also possible that methods for dealing with potholes will vary between councils, resulting in large differences when it comes to response times.”
Flintshire County Council, which has responsibility for maintaining all adopted highways in the county excluding trunk roads, said limited budgets and staffing pressures were contributing factors.
In a statement, the council said it faces “increasing pressures that continue to exist with constrained budgets, limited staff resources, an ageing network with a backlog of maintenance requirements and rising public expectations in respect of highway condition”.
The authority currently has an annual allocation of £1.5m in capital funding and £225,000 in revenue funding for highway maintenance. It estimates that £5m a year is required to maintain roads at a “steady state” condition, with the backlog of works now valued at £48m.
Flintshire has adopted a new Highway Asset Management Plan covering 2024–2030, which targets safety first and aims to mitigate further deterioration. The plan introduces a revised inspection regime and new asset management IT system.
Councillor Ted Palmer, Cabinet Member for Highways, Assets and Public Protection, said: “Maintaining our highway network to a safe and appropriate standard is a significant challenge, particularly in the face of difficult financial times. It is essential that we manage our highways infrastructure efficiently, balancing immediate needs with long-term sustainability.”
He added: “As a Council, we are committed to the principles of recognised best practice in highway asset management to enable informed decisions to be made about the levels of investment and maintenance funding required, which will assist us with targeting our resources to where they can be most effective.”
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