A Wiltshire Councillor has called for more money to be spent fixing potholes.

This follows a freedom of information request by the Liberal Democrats last month which shows the council took over 453 days to fix a pothole, which was the fifth-longest time out of the 81 local authorities reviewed.

Wiltshire Council Liberal Democrat leader Ian Thorn said: “I certainly recognise that because of the weather last year increased the number of pothole but a national Lib Dem freedom of information request which showed Wiltshire was in fifth place as one of the worst local authorities for fixing potholes.

“Although you can blame the weather to some extent, I don’t think Wiltshire finds itself in a particularly positive place.

“We all travel across the county and it’s very notable the road surfaces are in very poor condition. In opinion polls it’s the number one issue residents ae concerned about and what we need to see is more money being spent addressing the potholes and relaying the roads to keep them away.”

However, the council said in response: “Wiltshire in common with other local authorities has suffered a massive increase in the number of potholes reported. Between December 2022 and January 2023, there was a 400% increase. This has predominantly been due to extreme weather conditions. When considering the survey referred to and reviewing the dataset that it relies on, it is important to look at the data as whole when drawing conclusions rather than looking at individual cases. Using the same dataset and using the average time that it takes to repair potholes, Wiltshire would rank in the top 5 performing councils rather than the bottom 5.”

Another Liberal Democrat Councillor Ruth Hopkinson also recently complained about potholes particularly in her division of Corsham.

She said previously: “Some streets in Corsham are just appalling to drive down. That’s not unique to Corsham. It’s a nightmare.”

However, Cabinet Member for Transport Caroline Thomas responded and said: “There has been an increase in the number of potholes across the country, not just in Wiltshire. The combination of a long dry summer followed by periods of very wet and then freezing conditions, has seen road surfaces deteriorate, in some cases very quickly. Unfortunately, the roads in Corsham and throughout Wiltshire have been impacted by this.

“We have recently been awarded an additional £3.6m from the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Pothole Fund and are currently looking at which works can be scheduled to undertake the repairs based on priorities.”