Lincolnshire County Council explains its pothole repair record for 2024 as Labour candidate criticises record

A critic says we risk leaving the next generation ‘nothing but craters’ — as council leaders defended their record on pothole repairs for our roads.

Lincolnshire County Council has revealed that it repaired more than 100,000 potholes in 2024.

According to data from LCC, a total of 15,892 pothole enquiries were received from the public between January and the end of October last year - and contributed to the overall total sorted.

During the same period, 31,560 pothole repairs raised on an individual basis were completed, though this does not include additional potholes that would have been repaired through other works carried out by LCC.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that a further 1,259 pothole jobs were received between October 31 and January 16, 2025.

Councillor Martin Hill (Conservative), leader of Lincolnshire County Council, stated: “We put a huge amount of effort into keeping Lincolnshire moving.

"Spending on road maintenance last year reached record levels, and we repaired more than 100,000 potholes and rebuilt many miles of roads and footpaths over the past year.

“This year we’re investing a further £106.6m into maintaining our 5,500-mile network. The disparity between pothole reports and births highlights the unique challenge rural authorities face – our communities are spread out and our road network is large.

“To help manage the network most effectively across our vast rural area, we encourage residents to report potholes, as well as carrying out our own inspections, so that we can repair defects as quickly as possible.

“Whilst we know we still have more to do, it is encouraging that our maintenance strategy is working; Lincolnshire’s principal road network is in a better condition than the average rural authority, and the condition of our unclassified roads has significantly improved.”

While presenting the council's budget for 2025/26, Coun Hill claimed that spending on road maintenance was at "record levels" and, as a result, the condition of unclassified roads has considerably improved for the second year in a row.

He said: "With this additional funding we have allocated, I’m pleased to announce that our strategy is working and 57 miles of unclassified roads are no longer part of the ‘network needing maintenance’."

Rosanne Kirk, former Mayor of Lincoln and Labour candidate for St Giles in the forthcoming county council election has pledged to prioritise road repairs and infrastructure investment.

“Our roads are falling apart faster than our communities are growing. The Conservatives have failed to deliver for Lincolnshire, leaving us with crumbling infrastructure instead of a thriving future."

He added: “It’s time to fix our roads and rebuild our future—before the next generation inherits nothing but craters.”

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