'Unprecedented' number of potholes filled in Hampshire
Highways teams have been kept busy over the last year
Highways teams have been called to tackle an 'unprecedented' number of potholes and road defects in Hampshire in the last year.
Figures released by Hampshire County Council showed 180,909 repairs were delivered between April 2023 and April 2024, a 37% increase on the prior 12-month period.
It comes a year after the authority poured ÂŁ22.5 million into a two-year campaign to strengthen roads across the county.
The programme sees more resources spent on fixing damage quickly, in order to address issues linked to cycles of wet and freezing winter weather.
The authority has warned that taxpayers now face having to pay around 44% more to fix a pothole as a result of the upturn in road defects.
Councillor Lulu Bowerman, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Waste said:
"We understand that potholes remain a significant concern for Hampshire’s residents, impacting daily journeys and overall satisfaction whether travelling to work, school, running a business or enjoying all our county has to offer.
"With unprecedented volumes of potholes being reported to us, Hampshire isn’t alone in facing the challenge of keeping local roads in a good condition.
"Over the summer months, our highways teams will continue to make the most of the money we have available, and the generally drier, warmer days to support our priority focus on fixing large numbers of potholes, applying surface treatments to smooth our highways, and undertaking road maintenance on larger stretches of road across the county."