Pothole survey shows state of Greater Manchester’s roads

A STUDY in to the state of Greater Manchester roads suggests conditions have improved in most areas – but progress has been slow.

But the research has also underlined how it continues to be a postcode lottery from borough to borough as to levels of investment by councils.

Freedom of Information requests lodged at the 10 councils in the Greater Manchester region revealed all but three authorities – Trafford & Rochdale – had received fewer claims for damage to motor vehicles caused by potholes in 2014/15 year compared to the previous year.

There were around 20,000 complaints from the public about damaged roads across the Greater Manchester area in 2014/15.

Five councils saw higher numbers of complaints, with four recording less than the previous year. Manchester was unable to provide current figures to compare to previous results (full table of results below).

The research also showed only marginal increases in spending on carriageway repairs in 2014/15 compared to the previous year – with Stockport and Rochdale spending notably less.

Simon Edmondson, FSB regional chair for Greater Manchester, which conducted the research, said: “Our members rely heavily on the local road networks to do business, with employees, customers and trade deliveries relying on fast and efficient networks. Poorly maintained roads impede that.

“While this research shows councils are, on the whole, making some headway in maintaining our region’s road network to an acceptable standard, there’s still room for improvement.”

He added: “The figures also show something of a postcode lottery from borough to borough around the kind of standards you can expect to find. The hope is that devolution in Greater Manchester next year will mean councils will be able to invest more in maintaining highways, and it will hopefully mean a more consistent approach to funding to address the real problem areas.”

Your borough at a glance:

Oldham: Lord Lane in Failsworth was Oldham’s most complained about road in in both 2013/14 and 2014/15.

Stockport: A6 remains the most complained about road (due to the length more likely).

Trafford: A56 remains the most complained about road (due to the length more likely).

Stockport and Rochdale Councils: the only two councils in GM to invest less in road maintenance in 2014/15 compared to the previous year.

Rochdale: had the fewest complaints about potholes in 2014/15, but the number of complaints more than doubled compared to the previous year. This correlates to an increase in claims for damage to motor vehicles.

Tameside: saw complaints about potholes double by almost 50%, from 752 in 2013/14, to 1,484 in 2014/15.

Salford: saw the biggest decrease in claims for damage to motor vehicles, down from 51 to nine.

Manchester: unable able to provide a breakdown of figures regarding complaints about damaged roads for 2014/15.