Wigan's worst roads for pothole complaints - the top 10

The Wigan Observer submitted a request under the Freedom Of Information Act to find out which roads were causing a headache for motorists.

Top of the table was Poolstock Lane, in Poolstock, which was the subject of 26 complaints to Wigan Council in 2016-17. Close behind were Back Lane, in Appley Bridge, and Golborne Road, in Ashton, which each triggered 20 complaints.

Ashton’s roads led to the most complaints for a single area, with Bolton Road (18), Bryn Road (15) and Liverpool Road (10) joining Golborne Road in the top 10.

Making up the rest of the top 10 were Hamilton Street, Atherton (18); Chorley Road, Standish (15); Manchester Road, Astley (14); and Leigh Road, Hindley Green (13).

But council bosses say 1,000 fewer defects were actually identified compared to the year before and the figures continue to fall as they invest heavile in repairs.

Earlier this year Wigan’s roads were deemed among the best in the country for the past decade in statistics published by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Only three per cent of the borough’s roads managed by Wigan Council in 2016-17 were in need of repair, way ahead of the national average of 17 per cent and putting the town hall in the top three local authorities in the country.

In April 2016, the DfT awarded the borough £195,000 to fix a swell of potholes which had cropped up due to wear and tear. On top of this, the town hall invested £3.2m last year to improve highways.

The council says it repairs 14,000 potholes every year and is committed to maintaining 1,160km of roads.

Mark Tilley, the council’s assistant director for infrastructure, said: “At Wigan Council we are extremely dedicated to ensuring our roads are maintained to a high standard.

“As the Wigan Observer reported earlier this year we were proud to be highlighted by the DDfT as having among the very best roads in the country. We were also recently awarded the title of best council in the country for roads, highways and winter maintenance.

"Of course we recognise there are some roads in the borough which are more susceptible to defects than others for a variety of reasons and we are pleased that residents regularly report potholes to us so we can address problems quickly and efficiently.

“By having easily accessible reporting systems in place such as the Report It app we have made it much easier for residents to report issues to us including potholes and other road related enquiries.”

He said fewer potholes were found in the borough last year and the figures continue to drop.

Mr Tilley said: “It is important to note that most locations of a pothole or road defects may have been reported more than once. We’ve had 1,000 less defects identified on the network in 2016-2017 compared to the previous year.

“In addition the first quarter of this financial year shows the figure falling sharply by 40 per cent from the corresponding period last year. This demonstrates that our network condition has improved.

“We are very proud of the hard work that our officers put in on a daily basis to maintain our roads right across the borough, and we are always looking at new and innovative ways in which we can continue to improve residents’ journeys.”