Improvement in region’s road maintenance record, annual FSB pothole survey reveals

A study into the conditions of the local road network in Greater Manchester has been published today by the Blackpool-based Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which shows an improvement in conditions for motorists.

The annual research piece uses Freedom of Information (FOI) requests at all local authorities in the city region to ascertain how well the region’s most important piece of transport infrastructure – our roads – are being maintained. The research looked at how much councils budgeted for road repairs, versus how much they actually spent, and crucially, how many complaints they received from members of the public about potholes.

The study, which also looked at how many legal claims were received for damage caused to vehicles by potholes as an indicator, showed half of GM’s 10 councils are still failing to spend their allocated road repair budget in 2022/23, an improvement on the previous year’s figure of seven.

Wigan had the largest underspend this year, spending only 75% of allocated funds on repairs than it budgeted for – despite chalking up 2,568 pothole complaints.

Manchester City Council was the standout performer in terms of overall declining number of complaints, with 5,573 grumbles this year compared WITH 9,628 on the previous year – a reduction of 4,055, or 42%. However, it was still the council area with the highest number of complaints in GM overall.

Tameside held the crown as the area with the fewest complaints for the second year running, with just 873 in 2022/23, down from 1,651 last year – a 47% reduction.

For the second year in succession, Stockport spent the most on road repairs in GM, and reaped the rewards of continued investment, going from second worst in 2021/22 to third best performer this year. It went from 8,770 complaints in 21/22, to 1,221, a staggering 86% drop in complaints, and the biggest percentage improvement by a considerable margin.

FSB area leader for Greater Manchester, David Sudworth, said local road networks underpin the viability of the regional economy, and this year’s results – while a mixed bag – were, on the whole, encouraging.

He said: “Most small businesses need free flowing, well maintained road networks to operate smoothly. It’s as simple as that.

“This year’s figures suggest an improving picture in GM, with seven out of the 10 councils here doing better this year than the last in terms of pothole complaints.

“It’s also clear that councils, like Stockport and Manchester, who have invested big sums in repairs, have seem similarly huge improvements, but that’s not rocket science.

“Slightly concerning is that some councils are still not spending their full budgeted allocations. Road users in those areas – particularly where potholes are fairly common – will rightly have questions.”

He added: “While a well maintained road network may be seen by some as a ‘nice to have’, they’re actually rather important. Everybody relies on the road network in one way or another, whether that’s getting to work by bus, car or bike, or for businesses to get their goods in and out on time.

“Our roads, paid for by our taxes, are our most important transport asset, and authorities must continue to invest in them.”

In Liverpool City Region, where a total of £19,819,043 was spent on road upkeep, with 8,521 complaints and 391 legal claims made, three councils have not used their full allocated road repair budget in 2022/23 – the largest underspend was recorded by Wirral (-£955,876), followed by Halton (-£198,344) and Knowsley (-£89,008).

Conversely, Liverpool City Council and St Helens are having to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds more than budgeted to maintain local roads – an additional £620,691 and £350,658, respectively. Sefton Council is on budget.

Liverpool, which recorded the highest overspend, also tops the list for number of complaints received about roads (3,984) and number of legal claims recorded (218).

In Cheshire and Warrington, £11,930,829 in total was spent on road repairs, with 10,149 complaints and 1,293 legal claims.

Warrington Borough Council spent just £416,408 of its £511,073 road repair budget, receiving 569 complaints and 49 legal claims.

Cheshire East Council spent slightly more than its allocated budget (£11,512,662/£11,514,42), with 945 complaints and 723 legal claims made. Cheshire West and Chester’s road maintenance budget is £6m but no figures on actual spend were provided by the council, which received 8,635 complaints and 521 legal claims.