Cheshire West and Chester has been named by the CTC as the UK’s top council for fixing potholes – with Dumfries and Galloway shamed as the worst.
The CTC campaign, launched by Olympic sprint champion Victoria Pendleton in January, asked the public to log potholes online, before seeing how quickly – and how well – their highway authority filled them.
Cyclists were then asked to rate their authority on the overall condition of the roads, with the best councils receiving five stars and the worst getting just one.
And Cheshire West and Chester Council topped the bill, repairing all 47 potholes reported via Fill That Hole during the competition. Newham, West Lothian, Brent, Redbridge and Luton also scored 100 per cent.
Dumfries and Galloway Council – one of 46 authorities to score zero per cent – failed to fix a single pothole from the 50 reported.
The Fill That Hole website was launched in January 2007, with an iPhone app following in September 2010, and allows users to report potholes and hazards on the roads using an interactive map, with the information automatically passed on to the relevant highway authority.
The People’s Vote award went to the London Borough of Brent. Cheshire West and Chester appeared again, this time as a runner-up, along with Bath and North East Somerset Council and Bristol City Council.
“The public is very keen to see improved road maintenance standards, and this is particularly true for cyclists, as good surfaces are hugely important for their safety,” said CTC campaigns and policy director Roger Geffen.
“With Fill That Hole making it easy for road users to report road defects, people are discovering that many councils are good at fixing them quickly once they know about them.”
More than 11,000 potholes were reported between January 18 and April 17 – see how your council fared in the online results table.
“Local authorities are under immense pressure regarding road maintenance and we think it is only right to recognise the work they are doing to respond to these problems and ensure our roads are safe,” said Mike Archer from Aggregate Industries, who worked alongside CTC to run the competition.
“Our awards scheme encouraged local authorities to not only address pothole problems quickly and effectively but also to let the public know how well they are doing.
“In the battle between fixing potholes and managing the requirement for more effective long term road maintenance, communication with the public is critical.”
