Leeds Council: The total number of potholes reported in 2023 and how much it cost to fix them

Data obtained from a Freedom of Information request shows that Leeds City Council recorded nearly 5,000 more potholes in 2023 than before the Covid pandemic.

In 2019, there were 8,723 potholes, compared to 13,722 last year. This change represents a near 60% increase over the last five years.

According to the data, the amount spent by the council on fixing these potholes has also risen.

In 2019, the council spent £551,645 on potholes. But last year, the cost reached £972,353 – a growth of more than 75%.

In total, over the last five years, the local authority has spent £3.34million fixing 50,692 potholes.

The Freedom of Information data broke down the number of potholes into the different wards that make up Leeds.

Since 2019, the area with the most potholes has been Harewood, with 3,677, followed by Wetherby with 3294, Beeston and Holbeck with 2,518 and Roundhay with 2,459.

The areas with the least number of potholes were Morley North (729), Middleton Park (762) and Morley South (763).

According to the data, there were large disparities between the average time it took to fix these potholes.

Last year, the area which had the shortest wait time was Killingbeck and Seacroft, with an average of four days.

At the other end of the spectrum, potholes took the longest to be repaired in Beeston and Holbeck (32 days), Armley (26 days) and Headingley and Hyde Park (24 days).

More than 300 accidents related to potholes were flagged, compared to an average of 190 per year between 2019 and 2022.

And the amount of money paid out in compensation by the council as a result of these accidents has also increased.

In 2019, a total of £16,707.09 was paid out in compensation to those affected by potholes. Yet this figure has since nearly doubled, costing the council £32,693.03 in 2023.

A council spokesperson said: “Leeds City Council sets a high priority on highways maintenance because we continually receive public feedback that is a high priority for them.

“We have invested tens of millions of council funding into highways maintenance over many years, alongside government funding.

“We have a robust asset management system in place in Leeds to monitor and consider works on the highway, with a substantial programme of preventative maintenance works each year which aims to prolong the life of roads and help prevent potholes forming.

“Where we do have reports of pothole defects we have teams out daily, making these safe. Residents are able to proactively report any potholes online via the Leeds City Council website.

“As with many other authorities across the country we are dealing with a maintenance backlog on our roads, so we still need more financial support.

“Our recent estimate is that it would take more than £288million to bring all 2,944 kilometres of our roads up to an acceptable standard.

“Measures that prevent road damage and help local authorities tackle problems like potholes which affect all road users every day would be welcome in Leeds.”

In July of last year, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority announced more than £73million would be made available to tackle potholes and resurface roads – with more than £17million pledged to Leeds.