Disclosure Log

pothole repairs (FOI/6394)

Message from Nottinghamshire County Council - 01 October 2025

Dear ***** *******,

 

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REFERENCE FOI/6394

Thank you for your request for information relating to pothole repairs.

We are now able to provide the following information:

1. For the financial years 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26 (to date), please provide:
a. The total number of potholes reported to the council.

The below table shows the number of carriageway potholes reported per month for the requested time frame.
 

YearJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
2021   628938559314267193246253503
202211181800225180962236426227521739311331421
2023494112002941197618327649061050695113014483634
2024494848254167274115499918626065088737391548
20252516247320361051762765771 583    

b. The total number of potholes repaired by the council.
c. Of the potholes repaired, how many were:
  • Temporary or reactive repairs
  • Permanent repairs

All pothole repairs are classed as a permanent repair, so we cannot break down to temporary/permanent as requested. Please note that we find that the term "pothole" is used by the public to cover a range of concerns, from surface crazing and ride quality to actual defects. As many of these concerns do not transpire to what we identify as potholes, we are providing data on jobs created specific to where a void has formed in the surface that requires a high priority (Cat 1) response in accordance with Nottinghamshire County Council Highway Inspection and Risk Manual (https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/1729316/highwayinspectionriskmanual.pdf).
 
YearJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
2021   330445236194111838596361
2022530603143195571264244931225735014341147
202320658441710115653244672511111054136520282537
2024459747756234547935572585255517201661166515493037
20253983453025511746107312991139941    

2. For the same financial years (2021/22 to 2025/26 to date), please provide:
a. The total amount spent on pothole repairs, broken down by:
  • Temporary or “reactive” repairs
  • Permanent repairs

We are unable to provide this information. Costs related to pothole repairs are included in a wider maintenance budget, so the spend can’t be broken down to just pothole repairs.

b) The total amount spent on preventative highways maintenance measures intended to reduce the formation of potholes (e.g. resurfacing, surface treatments, drainage improvements, etc.).
 
 2021/222022/232023/242024/252025/26 (Up to the end of Period 5)
Resurfacing£3,357,308£4,313,012£9,432,503£11,391,626£4,530,963
Surface dressing & micro-asphalt£2,547,757£2,344,308£1,554,097£1,640,350£5,780,609
Structural drainage£879,269£796,634£852,081£904,658£622,264


3. The average response time (in days) between the report date and completion date for pothole repairs for the same financial years. Please include only potholes that were successfully repaired.

We do not hold this information. To do this we would need to look at all pothole jobs individually to see if they were originally reported by a customer or identified on a planned inspection and then calculate the difference between the report date and completion time. This would exceed the 18-hour limit for staff time, therefore we are exempting under Section (12).

4. As of the date of this request, what is the longest time (in days) that a currently reported pothole has been waiting to be repaired, measured from the date it was first reported
Information  

We do not hold this information. To do this we would need to look at all pothole jobs individually to see if they were originally reported by a customer or identified on a planned inspection and then calculate the difference between the report date and completion time. This would exceed the 18-hour limit for staff time, therefore we are exempting under Section (12).

5. For the last two financial years (or calendar years, if easier), how many potholes have been repaired more than once at the same location
If possible, please include:
  1. The number of potholes that required two or more repairs during that period.
  2. The maximum number of times any single pothole was repaired during that period.


This information is not recorded. If defects are identified at the same location as a previously identified defect, a new job would be created and this in not linked in any way to previous defects.

We trust this now satisfies your request and that you find this information to be helpful, however if you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled, then please email us at [email protected] quoting the reference FOI/6394 and we will be happy to review your request

For future reference, Nottinghamshire County Council regularly publishes previous FOI requests and answers on its website, under Disclosure logs, that may provide details relating to your query. (see link) Your privacy: we use your personal information such as name and address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests.  For further details about the use of information about you, please see the information handling privacy notice on our website at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/4323566/informationgovernanceandinformationrightsprivacynotice.pdf

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review.   Requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be addressed to: Complaints and Information Team, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NOTTINGHAM, NG2 7QP or [email protected].

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, SK9 5AF or  

I confirm that the authority holds information falling within the description specified in your request. However, we estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for local authorities it is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2 1/2 working days in determining whether the Department holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act the Department is not obliged to comply with your request and we will not be processing your request further.

Having applied an absolute exemption I am not required to consider the balance of public interest for and against disclosure.