EXCLUSIVE: More than £13m spent in last five years to fix potholes in Cambridgeshire
There's been a year-on-year increase in the amount spent since 2021
We can reveal since 2019, more than £13 million has been spent on fixing potholes in Cambridgeshire.
Since 2021-22, there has been a year-on-year increase in the amount spent by Cambridgeshire County Council in tackling the issue.
Figures we've obtained through a freedom of information request found the number of potholes repaired by the authority has risen in the last three years.
"I hit a pothole on the Sixteen Foot Drain a while ago," Graham Chappell, from the Fenland Road Safety Campaign, said.
"It's rained, there are puddles on the road, you don't know if it's a pothole or not but it is, and you hit it and it can burst your tyre and running alongside a deep waterway, that can be fatal."
More than £3m spent on pothole repairs
Last year saw the highest amount spent by the county council on repairing potholes on carriageways:
- 2019/20: £2,300,917.29
- 2020/21: £2,721,235.84
- 2021/22: £2,000,081.07
- 2022/23: £2,619,686.68
- 2023/24: £3,690,370.49
Pothole claims on decline
From 2021 to 2023, there was a rise in the number of claims made to the county council before a significant drop the year after:
- 2019: 748
- 2020: 608
- 2021: 447
- 2022: 1,458
- 2023: 1,847
- 2024: 400 (up to 03/12/2024)
Jump in pothole repairs
Figures seen by Greatest Hits and Hits Radio show a sharp rise in the number of pothole repairs carried out by the county council since 2021-22:
- 2019/20: 63,666
- 2020/21: 61,532
- 2021/22: 47,755
- 2022/23: 50,671
- 2023/24: 65,219
Graham believes people who have had damage caused to their vehicle because of a pothole should continue to report the issue.
"Let them know the problem and what a hazard it is," Graham said.
"My experience when I've done that in regards to potholes along roads like the Sixteen Foot Drain is they get rapid attention and get it fixed very quickly because there is an acknowledgement of how dangerous that situation is."
'Limited resources'
Last year, Cambridgeshire County Council said it would be investing an extra £43m in 2024 and next year on highways, including repairing and preventing potholes.
In its budget for 2025-26, the authority has pledged to invest more than £56m in maintaining highways, such as tackling a "significant backlog of repairs".
At the time, Councillor Lucy Nethsingha - council leader - said there's been a historic "underinvestment in highways, (which) has left us with a bill of more than £600m."
In December, the Government announced £244m would be given to local authorities in the East of England to help maintain roads, such as fixing potholes.
Graham said he's aware of other councils investing in equipment to repair potholes and is hopeful a move like this can sort the issue quicker.
"There are limited resources and they (the county council) can't do everything immediately," Graham added.
"The more resources that can be rechannelled back into fixing the roads, making them fit for purpose, we can have a better situation for everybody."