Thousands of road defects recorded across region

There are more than 33,000 road defects across the East of England, with an extra £25m being spent on road improvements in Essex

There are at least 33,000 outstanding road defects across the East of England that need to be repaired as of September, according to figures compiled by the BBC.

Essex has the most defects with 24,950 on its 5,000 miles of road, with the county council spending an extra £25m on resurfacing and maintenance across 191 projects ahead of winter.

Across the region, "only 36% of all local roads are in a good structural condition and almost £2bn is needed" to repair them according to David Giles of the Asphalt Industry Alliance.

That amount of money is not available.

In West Northamptonshire, there were 2,968 road defects needing to be repaired, with 2,555 in North Northamptonshire, 2,153 in Cambridgeshire and 351 in Hertfordshire (see full list below).

Norfolk, the county with the second-longest road network in England, said it only had 16 outstanding defects in September.

However, councils have different criteria and ways of counting road defects and potholes.

Resurfacing of Laindon's High Road is one of 191 projects being funded by Essex County Council

Conservative-run Essex County Council is spending £87.5m on road repairs and maintenance - more than double what was originally budgeted for in January.

Overnight, about 40 workers help extract the three-decades-old surface on the High Road in Laindon. It is being fully replaced with new water-resistant asphalt and improved drainage.

This is part of Essex County Council's "priority one" scheme of improvements.

Mark Platt, deputy highways cabinet member, said: "Residents will see the difference of resurfacing as opposed to traditional make safe repairs. It will mean the whole road is redone."

'Bad condition'

Ray Owen said he had to charge a tyre "every month" due to pothole damage.

However, there are still defects on neighbouring roads in Laindon. Just off the newly resurfaced High Road, Ray Owen has brought his flat-bed truck into the Laindon Tyre Centre.

He said he had to change his tyres "once a month" because of potholes.

"[I am] just driving down a normal street, but the streets are in a bad condition and I hit a pothole and now I am in the car garage getting it repaired," the landscaper added.

Rheis Morter, who runs the tyre centre, said there had been "a slight rise" in vehicles with pothole damage but he believed it was not just the state of the roads that caused it.

"Years ago wheels were small, tyres were big, if you were to hit a pothole then chances are you are going to be OK because there was such a big forgiving tyre - nowadays there's not," he said.

However, he admitted it was "a lot nicer to drive to work" after the High Road was resurfaced but said there were still plenty of potholes on Basildon's roads but "you've just got to know your route and know where to dodge 'em".

'It needed doing for the last 10 years'

Mo Larkin, an Independent councillor, said the "main drag roads" still needed to be repaired

Two minutes drive away, Mo Larkin, an Independent councillor at Basildon District Council, said she "hit a pothole" and had to get her tyre fixed.

She said the High Road in the town had "needed doing for the last 10 years".

"That's all we've got done and a few side roads. But the main-drag roads that people use, the rat runs, they are the ones that are left," she said.

Essex County Council's Liberal Democrat group leader Mike Mackrory said he was "quite alarmed that there are 310,000 highways defects" in the county council area, according to a Freedom of Information request.

Mr Mackrory said "it's an enormous number" even though the same defect could have been reported more than once.

Across the country, the Labour government planned to spend £1.6bn on road maintenance next year, an increase on this year.

The number of outstanding defects by county and unitary local authority in September 2024:

• Central Bedfordshire 151

• Cambridgeshire 2,153

• Essex 24,950

• Hertfordshire 351

• Norfolk 29

• North Northamptonshire 2,968

• West Northamptonshire 2,555

• Milton Keynes 29

• Suffolk 650

Other councils use different measurements or did not provide figures:

• Luton Council said 4% of its main roads and 12% of its unclassified network required resurfacing. Its 2024-25 budget had £5m for resurfacing, surface treatments and pothole repairs

• Peterborough City Council did not provide figures, but it noted it had been ranked third-best performing highways authority in the National Highways and Transport survey

• Southend-on-Sea City Council said it repaired its roads as and when, but did not provide figures

• Neither Bedford Borough Council nor Thurrock Council responded to the BBC's request for information

An RAC survey showed pothole-related damage claims against local councils for 2023 included:

• 2,560 in Essex (averaging £136 per claim)

• 1,914 in Hertfordshire (av. £367 per claim)

• 546 in Norfolk (av. £270 per claim)

• 561 in Suffolk (av. £350 per claim)