New figures show that Lancashire County Council’s performance on potholes is continuing to improve, with the vast majority of defects being fixed within target timescales.

A report to the Cabinet Committee on Performance Improvement reveals that since closer ‘risk based’ monitoring of highway issues was brought in last Autumn, overall repair rates have kept getting better.

Condition surveys have shown a general improvement in Lancashire’s roads over recent years, coupled with a reduction in the number of potholes by 38% over the last two years. The biggest improvements have been on busy A, B, and C roads and there will be a greater focus on residential and rural roads in coming years.

County Councillor Keith Iddon, cabinet member for highways said: “Wear and tear and bad weather means we’ll always get potholes, and like all councils we have to set limits on what we repair.

“At the same time, we’re investing as much as we can in improving Lancashire’s roads, and are planning to spend over £24m on maintenance this year. We’re now coming towards the end of another summer where our highways teams have been very busy replacing worn out surfaces and making preventative treatments to help our roads better withstand the demands of traffic and winter weather. We’ve been investing more in preventative maintenance for a number of years, and inspections, surveys, and performance data suggest that this is making a difference with an improvement in the overall condition of our roads.”