Potholes the number one issue for town residents

Fed-up residents have said a town's roads are the number one issue they want to raise with the council, with a record number of complaints about potholes in the last three years.

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams acknowledged the problem in her budget speech last week, pledging a further £3.5m for a new programme of repair work.

Council figures show the public flagged up 502 complaints in 2025, with 736 in 2024, more than twice the average number since 2012, while there were 570 in 2023.

The total number of complaints for that period was 1,808, compared with 1,070 reports from 2020 to 2022.

However, there were fewer potholes fixed in these last three years – 8,139 compared to 9,123 over the previous three years - despite nearly twice the number of complaints.

Residents have been quick to raise the topic of roads when quizzed on the doorstep.

Williams said millions had been spent on Blackpool's roads in recent years but she acknowledged the issue remained the hottest topic with residents.

"The number one issue raised with us on the doorstep is roads," she said in her budget speech.

"We have spent millions over the last few years in improving the quality of our roads, but there remains much we want to do."

The councillors said the authority was investing £15m as part of the town centre access scheme, which "will help all the new commuters that are coming into the town centre, as well as those who need to traverse the town centre".

"Blackpool wasn't designed for cars, but for trams, trains and public transport, so we are making changes that make it work better for everyone," she added.

Williams said the authority had aready invested £3.3m in improving road surfaces this year, covering more than 57,500 sq m of resurfacing, with £3.5m of work also programmed to start.

Concerns about potholes in Blackpool come amid severe, long-term issues relating to potholes being experienced across the UK, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

More than one million estimated road defects caused a surge in vehicle breakdowns and cost drivers roughly £645m in damages in 2025.

Despite millions being spent on repairs, 58% of drivers felt road quality had worsened, with a £14bn repair backlog .

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