‘Common sense’ approach to fixing potholes to be trialled in Devon

A new trial scheme is to be launched next week where Devon County Council repair teams fix the potholes they see and not only those ‘on the list’.

The seven week pilot will get underway from Monday, September 15 in parts of Barnstaple as well as west Devon areas of Hatherleigh, Chagford and North Tawton.

When someone reports a pothole to the council, highway safety inspectors will be asked to record all other potholes on that road within 500 metres in each direction, or to the nearest highway junction.

The repair teams will then repair as many as they can in that area, as long as they have the resources and equipment to do so.

The council said while not everything will be repaired, the trial will establish the budget implications of taking ‘a more proactive approach’ to fixing potholes before they become a hazard to road users and vehicles.

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Councillor Dan Thomas, DCC cabinet member for highways, said: “Improving Devon’s roads is a priority for the county council. We said we’d make changes and we want to see if this provides longer term benefits for the condition of our roads. Trialling this new approach will test whether it is a more efficient way of working and better value for money to fix potholes before they become a safety defect.

“The frustrations you hear from people are that a workforce will go out and fill in one pothole, but possibly don’t fill in others that you would consider road defects, because they don't have them on their list.

“While they're out on the ground it makes sense for them to be looking to fill as many road defects as possible to ensure they're not having to go back in short order. I don’t believe the current way of working is cost effective and the purpose of the trial is to prove that’s the case.”

It is hoped the trial will improve the conditions of roads in those areas for a longer period and lead to fewer potholes reports.

Cllr Thomas added: “We’re facing massive challenges because we don’t get enough money from central government for our roads to start with.

“We have a repair backlog of £390million and every year we need £102m a year from government just to keep our roads in their current condition, but we simply don’t get anywhere near that amount from government each year for the whole highways department, let alone just roads.

“Our highway maintenance budgets are limited and road repairs have to be prioritised, but this trial is exploring whether traditional maintenance policies can be adapted to drive further efficiencies and get even better value for money which would allow our budgets to go further.

“Devon has already adopted innovations to drive efficiencies – using new materials such as elastomac and equipment such as dragon patchers. This pothole repair trial is an opportunity to give our highways teams greater flexibility to repair what’s on site in the same visit rather than having to return to do more at a later date – something which has been highlighted consistently by residents.”

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