Massive sums spent filling potholes - full list of how much 61 councils spend

Motorists are being left to suffer on Britain’s crater-ridden roads while councils spend millions – because they can’t agree on how to fix a pothole.

Shocking new research has revealed that some local authorities are spending seventeen times more than others on repairing the very same road defect – and it’s costing taxpayers dearly.

A Freedom of Information request to 284 councils by French car maker Citroen – which has long called for reform – exposes the astonishing postcode lottery in pothole repair costs, with some councils shelling out more than £650 per pothole, while others spend less than the price of a meal deal.

According to Citroen's data, if all councils adopted the most efficient repair rate, a jaw-dropping 33.3 million extra potholes could have been filled in 2024 alone – sparing drivers from thousands of pounds in car damage, delays and misery.

Instead, just 1.89 million potholes were filled last year – at a reported average cost of £72.37 each – leaving millions of road users at risk and local budgets haemorrhaging cash.

Citroen warns councils could be wasting up to £1.23 billion annually on inefficient repairs, and called on the Government to urgently introduce a standardised, nationwide strategy to tackle the UK’s decaying road network.

The figures come hot on the heels of the 2025 ALARM report, which revealed that more than half of Britain’s roads have fewer than 15 years of structural life left. It would now cost £16.81 billion to bring our roads back to the ideal condition.

“This isn't just a matter of budgets – it's a matter of safety,” said a Citroen spokesperson. “With such wide disparity in spending and strategy, millions of drivers are at the mercy of a postcode pothole lottery.”

The most extreme example? Shetland Islands Council, which spent a whopping £656 per pothole in 2024. That’s more than 158 times the cost of Cardiff Council’s £4.13 per repair, the most efficient in the UK.

Incredibly, if the entire country repaired potholes at Cardiff's rate, last year's national repair bill would drop from £1.2 billion to just £7.8 million – freeing up funds to fix millions more craters.

If Shetland used Cardiff’s method, it could have fixed nine times as many potholes last year.

The councils under fire: highest & lowest spenders

HIGHEST SPEND PER SINGLE PLANNED POTHOLE REPAIR (2024)

Council Cost per Pothole

Shetland Islands Council £656

Shropshire Council £654

Coventry City Council £633.90

Argyl and Bute Council £513.01

North Lanarkshire Council £479.78

LOWEST SPEND PER SINGLE PLANNED POTHOLE REPAIR (2024)

Council Cost per Pothole

Cardiff Council £4.13

Rotherham MBC £18.06

London Borough of Southwark £34.75

East Riding of Yorkshire £35

Worcestershire County Council £43.27

Source: Citroen FOI to 284 councils across GB – 145 responded, 61 provided comparable data

The figures have reignited calls for a national pothole taskforce to tackle what has become a scandalous waste of taxpayer money and an everyday hazard for motorists.

Last year, a joint RAC and Channel 4 Dispatches investigation uncovered the wildly different standards local authorities apply when deciding whether to repair a pothole – some reportedly won’t act unless it’s deeper than 40mm, others act at just 20mm.

Full list of councils - how much your council spends

1. Aberdeen City Council: £113.80
2. Argyll & Bute Council: £513.01
3. Bracknell Forest Council: £110.66
4. Bristol City Council: £160
5. Caerphilly County Borough Council: £100
6. Cardiff Council: £4.13
7. Cheshire East: £111.93
8. Cheshire West and Chester: £134.10
9. City of Glasgow: £64.91
10. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council): £191.50
11. Cornwall Council: £85
12. Coventry City Council: £633.90
13. Derby City Council: £239.43
14. Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council: £60.82
15. East Ayrshire Council: £100.09
16. East Renfrewshire Council: £100.05
17. East Riding of Yorkshire Council: £35
18. East Sussex County Council: £161.18
19. Fife Council: £63.92
20. Isle of Anglesey Council: £72.35
21. Leicester City Council: £163.69
22. Lincolnshire County Council: £55.28
23. London Borough of Bexley: £330
24. London Borough of Brent: £76.89
25. London Borough of Ealing: £106.12
26. London Borough of Haringey: £84.12
27. London Borough of Islington: £60
28. London Borough of Lambeth: £264.94
29. London Borough of Merton: £139.68
30. London Borough of Redbridge: £68.50
31. London Borough of Southwark: £34.75
32. London Borough of Wandsworth: £51.52
33. Newcastle upon Tyne City Council: £55.35
34. Newport Council: £193.88
35. Norfolk County Council: £298.53
36. North Lanarkshire Council: £479.78
37. North Lincolnshire Council: £52
38. Orkney Islands Council: £95
39. Oxfordshire County Council: £100
40. Perth & Kinross Council: £276
41. Reading Borough Council: £55
42. Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council: £57.20
43. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council: £18.06
44. Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead: £87.03
45. Scottish Borders Council: £43.52
46. Shetland Islands Council: £656
47. Shropshire Council: £654
48. Slough Borough Council: £72.42
49. Somerset County Council: £60
50. South Ayrshire Council: £166.16
51. Stoke-on-Trent City Council: £452.06
52. Thurrock Council: £126.59
53. Torbay Council: £82.82
54. Warrington Council: £41.91
55. Warwickshire County Council: £97.21
56. West Dunbartonshire: £345.05
57. Wigan Metropolitan Borough: £81.11
58. Wiltshire Council: £97
59. Wokingham Council: £112.52
60. Wolverhampton City Council: £100.82
61. Worcestershire County Council: £43.27