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A pothole in Stoke-on-Trent lasted 567 days before being repaired 'A plague on our roads': Rishi Sunak inspects a pothole in Darlington, County Durham English roads are "riddled" with potholes, with some taking more than 18 months to repair, including one in Stoke-on-Trent that was not repaired for 567 days.
As drivers are increasingly faced with damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and broken wheels, new figures show huge wait times between reporting potholes to local councils and having them repaired.
Many councils in England take over a month on average to repair potholes once reported. And in the most offending area, the London Borough of Newham, it took an average of 56 days to fix potholes after they were reported.
Lambeth council, also in London, was almost as bad, with potholes in the borough taking an average of 50 days to fix. Stoke-on-Trent was the third slowest area to repair potholes, averaging 48 days.
Figures obtained by the Lib Dems show that in addition to average long waits, in the worst cases, some go without treatment for more than a year. Five local authorities - Stoke-on-Trent, Westminster, Norfolk, East Sussex and Wiltshire - have left at least one pothole unrepaired for more than 12 months.
The oldest pothole, in Stoke-on-Trent, has affected drivers and cyclists for 567 days, more than 18 months, after being reported before being plugged. Another in Westminster was left unpaved for 556 days, while in Norfolk a pothole lay unpaved for 482 days.
Liberal Democrat local government spokeswoman Helen Morgan said potholes "have become a plague on our roads".
She said: “Motorists shouldn't have to spend their journeys choosing between hitting potholes or swerving dangerously around an asphalt crater obstacle course.
“Working people are paying huge bills to fix pothole damage, while this Tory government takes the money local councils need to fix our roads.
“It's not fair that local residents in some parts of the country are waiting for over a year to repair roads because their council can't afford it. The pothole zip code lottery must end.
The party has criticized ministers for cutting local authorities' motorway maintenance budgets by £500m since 2020, despite the fact that the government has spent a further £200m tackling gaps in the government's budget. last month.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the government's bump fund, which previously provided £500m a year to councils, will rise to £700m in the 2023/24 fiscal year.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding welcomed the extra money but said at the time it would be "spread out lightly" on the 190,000-mile route in England.
The cost of improving potholed local roads in England and Wales has been estimated at £12.6 billion.
Conservative party chairman Greg Hands said: “If you are unfortunate enough to live in an area with a Liberal Democrat council, your potholes are less likely to be fixed.
“Labour's record is no better. Their only plan to stop potholes in Wales is to simply stop building roads.
"The Conservatives fix more potholes than Labor or the Liberal Democrats."
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