Reports of potholes in Rye and the rest of East Sussex more than doubled last year according to figures released in a freedom of information (FOI) request. East Sussex County Council (ESCC) said it received 26,309 details of potholes and other carriageway defects in 2022/23 compared with 12,637 in 2021/22 and 13,224 in 2020/21.
These figures are for the numbers reported by residents rather than the total number of potholes and other defects. At the Rye town meeting in March the leader of ESCC Keith Glazier urged residents to report potholes, explaining the council’s teams would only begin repairs if they had been officially notified.
The council has attributed the rise in reports to wet weather the previous winter — conditions it says were also seen in the past few months. In this video, Gabriel Morris has getting more reaction to the increase.
The FOI figures also show that almost half the potholes reported do not reach the 40mm criteria for repair, and are only made good if their conditions worsen. ESCC works to policies that split larger potholes into three categories:
Category 1: More than 100mm deep which the council aims to “make safe” within two hours.
Category 2: 60mm-99mm which have a response time of within 5 days
Category3: 40mm-59mm which the council aims to repair within 28 days.
According to the FOI figures, almost half of potholes or other carriageway defects reported between 2020/21 and 2022/23 did not meet the criteria for intervention. In all 24,127 out of 52,170 reports did not meet the criteria.
Of those that did meet the criteria, the council was able to repair most within its target time frames, although some repairs saw delays. In 2020/21, 7,533 out of 8,627 (87 per cent) of the reported potholes and other defects were repaired on time. This figure improved in 2021/22, with 8,858 out of 9,443 (94 per cent) repaired on time. But there was a dip in 2022/23, which saw 11,044 out of 13,931 (79 per cent) meet the time frame.
An East Sussex Highways spokesperson said. “The winter of 2022/23 was one of the wettest on record and unsurprisingly took a toll on roads across East Sussex, as it did across the country. This 2023/24 winter has also seen significant rainfall levels. To deal with the increasing number of potholes over the winter period in 2023, we had nearly three times the usual number of crews available to carry out repairs. We are responsible for more than 2,000 miles of road so prioritise our work, according to locally approved policies, to ensure potholes that present the greatest danger to road users are repaired as quickly as possible.”
Image Credits: Kenneth Bird .
It seems illogical to get a team on site to fill one hole, ignoring more a few metres away. I realise they have to stop somewhere to avoid patching the whole road, but this policy seems a waste of manpower and materials.
Another recent example was the extensive resurfacing at the bottom of Deadmans Lane. Two potholes were ignored, one later filled, leaving one around a manhole cover.
I completely agree, Chris. Repairing one intervention-level hole and leaving others to deteriorate until they meet intervention level might make sense on a commercial spreadsheet where Key Performances Indicators (KPIs) are measured monthly to accrue financial incentives, but it doesn’t meet public expectation. Moreover, it doesn’t meet taxpayers’ expectations of value for money or efficiency as Council Tax bills rise. How can three trips be cheaper than one? How can three tanks of diesel and three sets of workers’ wages be cheaper than one? And how can all the increased levels of financial compensation payable due to unrepaired potholes be cheaper than repairing everything in one visit? Finally, what about the un-recorded stress, delay, danger and inconvenience people experience? Is that budgeted for? That’s not to mention the economic interruption and the blight on 1066 country… I was recently accused by an irate Conservative Cllr. of “politicising” potholes by banging on about the unacceptable state of our roads. But, I ask you, could all the above be any less political?
Don’t lets even mention the appalling state of the road from Rye to Iden.
I don’t mean to be sarcastic or anything,but the rubbish ESCC are saying about too much rain beggars belief, the state of the roads in my opinion is the lack of any maintenance on the roads that I use in St Leonard’s,to say it’s dangerous to keep driving around potholes is an understatement to say the least,Bexhill road is an absolute disgrace which ESCC said it was being resurfaced weeks ago but its still in a state.
I notice this article is very similar to one that appeared in the 19 April issue of the Hastings, St Leonard’s and Rye Observer, written by the same journalist, who is also the ‘Local Democracy Reporter’ for that newspaper. The date on the Rye News story is 18 April, so the articles would likely have been submitted around the same time. If Rye News is publishing reworked articles from the HSL&R Observer, fair enough, because it’s possible that the journalist is a freelance and he has a right to do this. I would caution against articles appearing to be too similar, or attribution would be needed. However, referring to the same writer as the Local Democracy Reporter in both publications is probably crossing a line in terms of journalism ethics, and I’d suggest Rye News takes this on board. Regarding potholes in East Sussex, the situation is a disgrace. It’s caused by central government’s swingeing cuts to council funding over the last 14 years. Council Tax is soaring as a result. Only now, with a general election on the horizon, is anything being done about potholes, but it’s likely to be too little, too late. Money that was going to be used on the HS2 rail link has now been diverted to fill potholes. The pothole situation is an object lesson in what happens when governments fail to maintain essential infrastructure.
Hi, Alan, the BBC fund Local Democracy Reporters (LDRs). This may clarify:
https://www.bbc.com/lnp/ldrs
Not only is it illogical but it’s laughable to think that anyone thinks this is an efficient way to fill the potholes in our roads. Some of us over a certain age are beginning to fear driving in the dark. Having had several punctures driving over potholes, at great cost to us, we do not want to be stranded somewhere on a dark night. My neighbour had to wait three hours for the AA to come out because they are so busy helping people with punctures. On a visit to France last year we did not see one pothole!! Please someone ask them how they do it.
I notice that the appalling state of the road from Rye to Iden has now been patched near the junction by what was once the Peace and Plenty. Just need the rest of it done…
100 yards from my house on the A268 at Rye Foreign there is large and very deep pothole
at the side of the road.
Hitting that would result in at least two blown tyres and probably suspension damage as well.
After 10 days the council had traffic lights installed.
These stopped working at one end causing chaos and still no sign of repairs.
Five days later and the lights packed up all together.
A poor chap from Highways stood there in the rain controlling the traffic.
Still no repairs after two and half weeks but at least the lights are working at the moment.
What a shambles, you couldn’t make it up.