Potholes

A pothole is where the surface of the road has been eroded and a hollow has formed. The Council is responsible the repair of the road surface on all public highways in the borough, other than the red routes (including the A2, A20, A21, South Circular and the A205). These are maintained by Transport for London (TfL).

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does the Council programme pothole repairs?

All roads in the borough are inspected at least twice annually. Defects deemed to be potentially hazardous by the highway inspectors are repaired within 24 hours. Less serious defects are either scheduled to be repaired within 14 days or are added to the planned maintenance programme.

Why does the Council not repair all the potholes?

There is a limit as to how effectively we can repair many of the potholes. Potholes of less than 50mm in depth are impossible to repair as the repair material is simply plucked from these shallow depressions by passing traffic. Any repair lasts only days, or at the most weeks before it is broken up and then distributed all over the surrounding road surface, often leaving the road in a worse state than it was before.

How do I report a footway defect? What is the Council’s inspection regime for footways?

All roads and footways are inspected on a regular basis. The frequency of these inspections is dependent upon their level of use. The inspectors will then prioritise identified works, although budget limitations will mean that some works may be deferred to a future date.

However if you are aware of any areas which you consider hazardous and in need of immediate attention, please contact us using the details below or use the online Street Fault report form. Please give a precise location (e.g. an adjacent house number) if you can and the defect will be investigated.

What about maintenance and traffic problems on housing estate roads?

Estate roads are not part of the public highway. They are privately owned - by the housing division. Details of whether a road is maintained by the transport or housing division is contained in the Highway Register. Maintenance of estate roads and traffic and parking issues on them are the responsibility of the housing division. In the first instance we would recommend that you raise any issues you are concerned about with your neighbourhood office.

Can vibrations caused by heavy vehicle traffic result in damage to buildings?

While we recognise that noise and vibration from heavy traffic is a nuisance to you, it is in fact very unlikely that any damage would be caused to your property. Vehicle damage to buildings is almost unknown except in cases where the vehicle actually hits the building. The Transport and Road Research Laboratory have established that even in the worst case with respect to ground conditions, type of vehicle and state of loading, structural damage can not be induced further than one metre from the line of the nearest wheel track.

Road works materials have been left on site. Can the Council get them removed?

The Highway Maintenance Group has regular monthly meetings with our contractors and any known instances of materials, barriers or signs being left on site after completion of work are raised at these meetings. At any one time there can be a large number of sites in the borough where works on the carriageway or footway are being carried out. Some of these works may be being carried out by our contractors, whilst others may be the work of one of the Utility companies.

We are grateful to any residents who let us know of instances of materials being left behind, that perhaps the Highway Inspectors have not seen. We can then ensure their prompt removal. If you wish to let us know of any materials left on site please contact us using the details below, or complete the online reporting form.