The annual research piece uses Freedom of Information (FOI) requests at all local authorities in the city region to ascertain how well the region’s most important piece of transport infrastructure – our roads – are being maintained. The research looked at how much councils budgeted for road repairs, versus how much they actually spent, and crucially, how many complaints they received from members of the public about potholes.
The study, which also looked at how many legal claims were received for damage caused to vehicles by potholes as an indicator, showed half of GM’s 10 councils are still failing to spend their allocated road repair budget in 2022/23, an improvement on the previous year’s figure of seven. Wigan had the largest underspend this year, spending only 75% of allocated funds on repairs than it budgeted for – despite chalking up 2,568 pothole complaints.
Manchester City Council was the standout performer in terms of overall declining number of complaints, with 5,573 grumbles this year compared to 9,628 on the previous year – a reduction of 4,055, or 42%. However, it still was the council area with the highest number of complaints in GM overall.
Tameside held the crown as the area with the fewest complaints for the second year running, with just 873 in 2022/23, down from 1,651 last year - a 47% reduction.
For the second year in succession, Stockport spent the most on road repairs in GM, and reaped the rewards of continued investment, going from second worst in 2021/22 to third best performer this year. It went from 8,770 complaints in 21/22, to 1,221, a staggering 86% drop in complaints, and the biggest percentage improvement by a considerable margin.
FSB Area Leader for Greater Manchester, David Sudworth, said local road networks underpin the viability of the regional economy, and this year’s results – while a mixed bag – were on the whole encouraging.
He added: “Most small businesses need free flowing, well-maintained road networks to operate smoothly. It’s as simple as that. This year’s figures suggest an improving picture in GM, with seven out of the 10 councils here doing better this year than the last in terms of pothole complaints.
“It’s also clear that councils, like Stockport and Manchester, who have invested big sums in repairs, have seem similarly huge improvements, but that’s not rocket science. Slightly concerning is that some councils are still not spending their full budgeted allocations. Road users in those areas – particularly where potholes are fairly common – will rightly have questions.”
He added: “While a well-maintained road network may be seen by some as a ‘nice to have’, they’re actually rather important. Everybody relies on the road network in one way or another, whether that’s getting to work by bus, car or bike, or for businesses to get their goods in and out on time. Our roads, paid for by our taxes, are our most important transport asset, and authorities must continue to invest in them.”
NOTE: Scroll down for tables of results, including this year’s, last years, and the wider NW regional results.
Previous year's results
North West complaints table of results for most potholes – seven of the 10 worst places in the NW are in GM
