Council repaired 789 Swindon potholes in August

A new update on pothole repairs has been issued by Swindon Borough Council.

The authority said in a message to the public: "Feedback from our reader survey back in July showed that you’re keen to see more information on our work to tackle potholes.

"We know that the maintenance of Swindon’s roads is an important concern for all road users. That’s why we want to be clear and open in explaining our approach, including the challenges and financial constraints we face. 

"Decades of reductions in funding from central government to local councils’ road repair budgets is why the Local Government Association estimate it would take councils in England £14 billion, and more than a decade, to clear the current local roads repair backlog."

Last month, the council's team completed 789 pothole repairs across Swindon, of which:

- 418 were fixed within five working days of being reported

- 762 were identified by our team of five highway inspectors who regularly check 522 miles of Swindon’s roads and all 646 miles of paths/pavements and 76 miles of cycle paths 

- 74 repairs were reported by residents, of which 27 met the criteria for a repair

The council has also issued a reminder of how it prioritises repairs: 

For a pothole to be considered a safety defect, it must be at least 40mm deep in the road surface (roughly the height of two 20p coins). These are risk assessed and potholes that pose a very high level of safety risk are repaired within 24 hours.

The council aims to complete all other pothole repairs within 10 working days, with the majority completed within five working days. Other defects may be prioritised for a repair over the following six weeks.

For defects less than 40mm deep - a risk assessment is made in line with our Carriageway and Footway Defects Management Plan to determine if the defect is a hazard and if a repair is necessary.

Further information can be found at www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20040/road_safety_maintenance_and_repairs/339/report_a_pothole/2