6,000 Plymouth potholes repaired in year

Velocity machine is quicker and cheaper

Over the last year, Plymouth City Council has repaired nearly 6,000 potholes.

The authority’s ‘velocity’ machines, which carries out repairs at the fraction of the cost of traditional techniques, has dealt with 3,700 of them.

Cabinet member for transport Cllr John Stephens (Lab, Plymstock Dunstone) told a meeting this week that the amount of defects repaired compared favourably to the previous three years.

Wider sections of road were also being repaired around potholes to reduce the need for return visits.

The velocity machine had been out in Budshead, Moor View, Honicknowle, St Budeaux, Ham, Eggbuckland, Peverell, Efford and Lipson over the last few months and was in Sutton and Mount Gould at the present time.

Also known as the ‘Find and Fix’ machine, operators scout the streets to look for defects and repair them as they go. 

People can report a pothole on the council’s website but it will only be repaired if it is at least 40mm deep and over 300mm wide. 

If the problem is on the A38, the public should report it to Highways England.

The city council released £6.6 million to its highways capital budget last month for ongoing maintenance of the city’s road surfaces, footways, structures, signals and street lighting.

The funding will be used to protect and strengthen Laira Bridge and resurfacing work as well as support “a more proactive approach to repairing potholes, whether they are found during inspections or reported to the council”. 

Earlier this year, it was reported that pothole repairs had cost Plymouth City Council £1.8 million over the last three years but that the authority also paid out £11,000 to individuals who had made more than 100 claims against the council when their vehicles were damaged by potholes.