Southend declared worst in Britain for potholes by survey

A survey carried out by car checker Motorscan, based on Department of Transport data on road conditions from 2018 to 2023, shows Southend as having the most roads in need of repair, with Derbyshire and Hackney following.

According to the survey, 15.6 per cent of the city’s major roads need repair, with 24.6 per cent of B and C roads in a similar state, 3 per cent more than Derbyshire.

But Southend Council has branded the survey as inaccurate, noting that “using average figures based on data going back to 2018 is no way to judge the state of our roads in 2024”.

The council said the latest figures bear “no resemblance” to past data, but Echo readers have been outspoken in naming the city’s most notorious roads.

Southend resident Colin Bailey said: “Manners Way from Cuckoo Corner is like a rollercoaster for your suspension and your teeth. The problem is just filling them in isn’t good enough, most roads need resurfacing and maintaining which councils never do.

“The Government needs to give councils enough money to resurface four major roads and eight minor roads per year.

“That’s the only way to get these roads back to where they use to be when the council had their own teams of people to do the work.”

Pothole in Thorpe Hall Avenue (Image: Provided)
Roads identified by Southend residents as the worst include Chase Road, Southchurch; Thorpe Hall Avenue and Wimborne Road, which have been likened to “off-road driving experiences.”

Southend resident Rob Furzer said: “Every single road in the borough is damaged in some way, shape or form.

“My car must be maintained to a certain standard in order to drive on roads that aren’t. Something is wrong, very wrong.”

Thorpe independent councillor Martin Terry said: “The danger of these potholes concerns me as a pedestrian and a cyclist. It is not acceptable and my priority as a councillor is to look after residents.”

Southend Council insists more accurate figures from 2023 show significant improvement in the condition of roads.

Southend Tory cabinet member for highways, Kevin Buck, said: “When I took over as cabinet member in May 2023 from the three party coalition, I recognised both the neglect and poor quality of assessment management that our roads had been suffering from.

“I took some immediate steps to improve on this by introducing a policy of longer term permanent pothole repairs, rather than the continuous conveyor belt of conducting temporary repairs to the same pot holes we had before.”

Mr Buck said this “progressive policy had been successful and had been recognised by the Motorcycle Action Group.

He added: “The group visited Southend recently to see for themselves and have now included the city in their nominations for most improved roads.”

He added: “We have also identified through a robust asset management assessment roads of high priority needing repair. The issue that Southend now has is catching up on the previous years of neglect, which will take time and the current situation will need significant investment to get the roads back in to a condition we all want and deserve.”

A council spokesman said latest figures showed significant improvement, adding: “Whilst there is always more work to do, our highways team are one of the most responsive in the region and our new approach to permanent repairs and resurfacing is making a visible difference.”