Anthony will be leading a debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday 24th April which focusses on the very important subject of Potholes and Highways Maintenance. During this debate, he will be highlighting the issues we are facing in the South West as well as offering some solutions, taking inspiration from other countries.
Anthony would be interested to hear from South Devon residents about their experiences with potholes, so would be grateful if you could take part in his survey: https://www.anthonymangnall.co.uk/news/anthony-mangnall-mp-invites-you-…
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The state of Devon’s roads is a source of great frustration to local residents, as they are marked by potholes and broken surfaces. This is in part due to the atrocious weather that has persisted through 2024, including a cold snap and heavy rainfall.
While the issue of road maintenance is devolved to local government, Anthony is acutely aware of the problems that face us when driving on our rural roads.
The total cost to repair all of Devon’s roads is estimated to be over £200m. The reason for this high cost becomes clearer when you learn that a vast amount of our roads comprises only a thin layer of asphalt on top of the old cart roads of yesteryear. These thin filaments are not up to scratch and can deal with neither the weight nor volume of traffic.
How to report a pothole
Anthony is unable to instruct local authorities on which roads should be prioritised for resurfacing works and road maintenance. It is therefore essential that potholes are reported to either Devon County Council or Torbay Council, depending on where the pothole in question is located - below are the links to report an issue.
Torbay Council: https://www.torbay.gov.uk/roads/highway-maintenance/potholes/
Devon County Council: https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-problem/report-a-pothole/
Please note, this map shows which potholes have already been reported and which potholes are scheduled for repair. Devon County Council asks residents not to report potholes that are already marked on the map, but you can choose to ‘add yourself’ to the pothole to show the strength of feeling.
If you are reporting an emergency that requires immediate attention, please call us on 0345 155 1004. An emergency on the highway is defined as something that is very likely to present an imminent threat to life or serious injury or serious damage to property.
You may also wish to report the issue to your local councillor as they are able to advocate directly to the council on your behalf. Find details here: https://www.writetothem.com/
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Please note, it is possible to claim against the local authority if you have suffered a loss as a result of an incident cause by a pothole. More information about how to do this in each of the council areas can be found at the links below.
Devon County Council: https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/maintaining-roads/safety/highways-insurance-claims/
Torbay Council: https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-problem/report-a-pothole/
Whilst a Highway Authority has a statutory duty to maintain the highways, the Courts accept that, no matter how diligent an authority is, some defects or problems will occur between these inspections and an Authority cannot reasonably prevent or respond immediately to all defects. As a consequence, the simple existence of a defect on the highway does not generally render the highway authority automatically liable.
Funding
Changes to the planned work on HS2 have unlocked a significant sum of money for the rest of the country, and Devon is set to benefit from this. In October 2023, the Government announced £8.3 billion of additional highway maintenance funding over the period 2023 to 2024 and the next 10 years for local road resurfacing and wider maintenance activity on the local highway network.
Immediately after this announcement, Anthony wrote to the Minister for Transport along with colleagues to request additional support for Devon’s road network.
As a result, Devon County Council will receive an extra £6.6m for highway maintenance in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, part of a minimum uplift of £208.6m between now and 2034. Torbay Council will receive an extra £230,000 in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, part of a minimum uplift of £7.2m between now and 2034.
This signifies the largest continual investment into our road networks since they were first built and will result in a wide scale improvement of our road network.
As for how the funding is used, this is entirely a matter for local authorities as the Government does not usually intervene or override local decisions in local highway matters.
Planned works
Following the funding announcement mentioned above, to ensure transparency the Department for Transport asked all authorities to publish the following information on their website:
- A summary of the additional resurfacing work they will deliver with the new funding over the next 2 years;
- Thereafter quarterly reports, with the first due by the end of June 2024, summarising the additional work they have done and listing the roads they have resurfaced;
- Later in 2024/2025 a long-term plan for their use of the full 11-year funding and the transformation it will deliver.
Information about Devon County Council’s additional resurfacing work can be found here: https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/maintaining-roads/funding-…
Information about Torbay Council’s additional resurfacing work can be found here: https://www.torbay.gov.uk/roads/roadworks/additional-highways-resurfaci…
Road warden scheme
Town and Parish Councils can sign up to the Road Warden Scheme, which is a formal agreement with Devon County Council which enables them to deliver minor works in or around the public highway. This includes undertaking repairs of potholes that do not meet DCC’s intervention criteria.
More information about this scheme can be found here.
https://www.devon.gov.uk/communities/opportunities/road-warden-scheme