Where are the worst regions for potholes in England? trends now
London, the Midlands and North East are the worst areas for road condition across England, a study has found as the scale of Britain's pothole epidemic was laid bare.
Some 21 per cent of roads in those three regions are classified as having a 'poor' structural condition, meaning they have less than five years of life remaining.
Following behind was Yorkshire and the South West, both on 19 per cent, and the North West on 18 per cent. The East was at 14 per cent and South East at 16 per cent.
The Asphalt Industry Alliance's report also found the cost of clearing the UK pothole backlog has reached a record high of £14billlion - up nearly £1.5billion on last year.
It would take 11 years for local authorities to fix every crumbling road in England and Wales, up from nine years in 2022, according to the survey.
The total number of potholes filled reported in this year's survey has decreased by 16 per cent from 1.7million reported for the last two years to 1.4million in England and Wales
Last year the trade body found it would cost councils £12.64billion to fill in all potholes – but since then the repair bill has risen by 11 per cent to £14.02billion.
The Daily Mail is campaigning for an end to the nation's pothole plague, which is costing drivers millions in repair bills and putting cyclists' lives at risk.
Overall, the AIA found there were 8,000 fewer miles of road classified as 'good' compared with last year, a fall of 4 per cent.
And one in every nine miles of local road is now in 'poor condition' and likely to require maintenance in the next 12 months.
The total shortfall in carriageway maintenance budgets reported in England and Wales is £1.3billion, equivalent to a funding gap of £7.7million per authority – a 20 per cent rise on 2022
The road network has seen further decline in condition, with the proportion of roads classified as 'poor' rising in both England and Wales over the past year - although it is down in London
Despite the deteriorating state of the nation's roads, only 1.4million potholes were filled in 2022/3, down from 1.7million in the previous year.
The AIA's Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey found shortfalls in pothole repair budgets among local authorities had reached a record high.
Councils in England and Wales said they only received two-thirds of what they needed during the current financial year to stop local roads further deteriorating, the ALARM survey found.
Meanwhile, the compensation paid out for accidents and damage caused by poorly maintained roads has risen from £8.9million to £11.6million – despite the number of submitted claims falling.
