Barnet Council says it is fixing the problem reports David Floyd

Barnet Council says it is “identifying and fixing” more potholes after new figures revealed that the number reported in the borough increased by 66% over two years.

Figures revealed in a response to a Freedom of Information request published last week show that the number of potholes reported to the council increased from 1835 in 2021/22 to 3041 in 2023/24.

However, the increase in reports was accompanied by a similar increase in the number of potholes repaired by the council, this figure grew 64% from 2853 to 4692.

Barnet Council told Barnet Post that factors in the increase in reports included increasing community engagement as a result of potholes becoming a national issue, email and apps making reporting easier, and harsher weather conditions.

A council spokesperson explained the action the council was taking telling the Post: “We’ve committed £97m of funding to improve the borough’s huge 700km network of roads and pavements, and have also run a campaign to highlight the work we do to maintain this network, and encourage residents to report potholes.

“This has led to us identifying and fixing more potholes this year. This work is all part of our campaign to care for our places and make our roads safer for all.”

However, Conservative opposition leader, Peter Zinkin, said a new approach was needed to tackle the problem.

Cllr Zinkin told the Post: “The pothole problem is never going to be ameliorated without better tech. Sending teams out to patch ruined roads tends to just delay the problem and leaves the state of our to the elements.

“The statistics speak for themselves, although activity has increased, such as borrowing near £100 million pounds to fix the roads, the problem of potholes is not going away or reducing.

“There was a task and finish group led by Cllr David Longstaff which recommended that the council look at better technology in relation to fixing roads but the response we’ve received is not very encouraging.”

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