Campaigner reacts to news more drivers than ever concerned about potholes
There have been over 700 reports of potholes made to Oxfordshire County Council in the past week.
More than half of drivers said potholes was one of their main concerns, a motoring survey finds.
For the first time, a majority of drivers (56% of those surveyed) say the condition and maintenance of roads was one of their top motoring concerns, according to research commissioned by the RAC.
Compared to last year, the figures show that concern has risen by seven percent since 2023.
Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh said: “We made a promise we will fix up to one million potholes per year and that will come forward in the budget process for Autumn.
“Secondly, we want to work will local councils to deliver multi-year funding settlements, so that they can properly fix and maintain the roads.”
Across Oxfordshire, the County Council are responsible for fixing potholes and the maintenance of roads, except in Oxford which falls under the City Council.
There have been over 700 reports made to Oxfordshire County Council in the past week alone, outlining the problems to the condition of roads, including potholes.
Mark Morrell, also known as ‘Mr Pothole’ is a campaigner on the issue. He said: “The profile of potholes has gone from not only a national crisis, but an international embarrassment.”
He believes more should be done to help local authorities with the issue. He said: “If they haven’t got the money to do the job properly, it’s extremely difficult.
“I don’t want to be too critical because there are some people in council’s and authorities around the country trying to do the best job, they can with the money they’ve got.
“But it drives poor behaviour and repairs.”
In the survey from the RAC, they also found that families were paying £460 repairing their car per year on average.
Mr Pothole said: “People are struggling for money at the moment because of the financial crisis.
“They can’t really afford £100 for a type, four or five hundred pound to get their car fixed. It all adds up.”
Earlier this year in March, Oxfordshire County Council set out to spend £7m in resurfacing roads between April and June, improving nearly 100 streets.
In the last financial year, statistics shown that Oxfordshire County Council’s pothole-related compensation had tripled.
They spent £230,248 on 514 claims during 2023/24 compared to £86,246 on 310 claims the year before.