Potholes are a driver's worst nightmare, causing everything from popped tyres through to risking dangerous accidents. But while there are many places where the road defects are seemingly everywhere, there's one area of London which has been named the worst borough for potholes.
This is Barnet, where there are currently 4,656 reported potholes as of January 29, 2024. This is according to a new study from data collection experts at SmartSurvey, who analysed the reports of potholes registered via FixMyStreet.com for 69 cities across England, Scotland and Wales.
They discovered that fared relatively well overall, averaging 1.7 reported potholes per 1,000 residents. But in Barnet, there are on average 12 potholes per 1,000 residents.
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The 'fix rate' - how many marked potholes remain unfixed - in the North London borough is 32.6 percent, which is very low compared to the most responsive local authorities across the country too. Lewisham Council is easily the most responsive not just in London, but across all local authorities in cities across Britain. They fixed 98.45 percent of the reported potholes.
Barnet is also significantly worse for potholes than anywhere else in London, according to the data. The next worst borough is Richmond upon Thames, where only 2.6 potholes remain unfixed per 1,000 residents.
However, the pothole issue has been plaguing Barnet for a while. Residents were unable to commute from their usual bus stops as a result of 'huge potholes' in the road near the Dollis Valley estate at the beginning of 2024.
A sign was erected on Mays Road in Barnet which left residents baffled as they were no longer able to get on their bus from their nearest stop. The sign, penned by Transport for London said: "Bus stop closed. Buses are unable to serve this stop due to large potholes. Please board your bus at the Barnet Hill."
In response to this data, Cllr Alan Schneiderman, Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Environment & Climate Change said: “Tackling potholes is a key commitment for us as a new administration following the local elections in May 2022. We are proposing to invest over £100million over five years to repair roads and tackle potholes.
“The data cited is also misrepresentative of the facts. The most urgent potholes are fixed within 24 hours and all others between seven and 28 days. Barnet is disproportionately affected by potholes with one of the largest road networks in London. Barnet also has amongst the highest volume of vehicle movements a day in London of which 1000 are HGVs.”
Got a story for us? Email anna.willis@reachplc.com.
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