The average cost of repairing potholes across Somerset’s road network has been recently disclosed in response to a public question posed by a local councillor.
Somerset Council oversees the maintenance of the county’s extensive road infrastructure, excluding major routes like the M5, A303, and A36, which are managed by National Highways (formerly Highways England). The council allocates a significant portion of its highways budget to maintaining and improving these roads—ranging from full-scale resurfacing and summer surface dressing to fixing individual potholes reported by residents.
The information came to light when Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, leader of the Conservative opposition group and representative for Bridgwater East and Bawdrip, raised the matter during a full council meeting in Bridgwater before Christmas. The meeting’s recording has only recently been made public.
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Councillor Rodrigues asked, “What is the average cost to this authority of repairing a pothole?”
Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, acknowledged the complexity of providing an exact figure, citing the wide variation in pothole size, depth, location, and the logistics of repair work. He explained: “The cost of repairing potholes varies significantly, depending on the size, depth, urgency, location, whether traffic management is required, and whether it’s a machine-laid patch.”
After analysis, the council determined that the average cost to repair a pothole between April and October 2025 is approximately £123.32. When focusing solely on single pothole repairs, the average cost drops to £98.63.
Residents are encouraged to report potholes or other road issues via the Somerset Council website at www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/report-a-problem-on-the-road.
Shortly following Councillor Wilkins’ response, the Department for Transport (DfT) introduced a new scoring system to assess how effectively local councils use government grants for road maintenance. Somerset Council achieved an overall ‘amber’ rating, ranking 26th out of 153 local authorities.
The council earned a ‘green’ rating for the condition of its road network and its adherence to best practices, but received a ‘red’ rating on its spending metric. Despite this, Somerset expects to utilize 98% of its annual DfT capital funding allocation by the end of the financial year.
Looking ahead to 2025/26, the council plans to resurface over 34 miles of road and carry out preventative treatments on nearly 115 miles across Somerset, aiming to improve the longevity and quality of the county’s roads.