Suffolk Highways spends nearly £200,000 on Ipswich potholes

In a Freedom of Information request, it was revealed that between January 2024 and March 2024 Suffolk County Council's Highways Committee spent £193,329 on fixing potholes in Ipswich alone. 

Since the start of the financial year in October 2023 to March 2024, this number is put at £275,296.

However, these numbers cannot be compared to years before, as the county council did not previously have divisions where money was spent prior to 2024.

A Suffolk Highways spokesperson said: "We continue to work hard to reduce the number of outstanding potholes on the road network following the cold and wet period we’ve had. Unfortunately, there will always be new potholes that appear, and we prioritise repairs to those that pose the greatest risk to road users.

"In Ipswich specifically, we have also 40 road locations planned for resurfacing or surface treatments during this financial year. Resurfacing provides a renewed road surface where potholes may otherwise form."

The sinkhole appeared on high street this March (Image: Charlotte Bond)

During this time, there have been three major potholes recorded. 

The first took place on February 8, on London Road. The highways committee blocked the road overnight to fix potholes on the road. 

In February, there were also a series of potholes between Felixstowe Road and Nacton Road, that were posing a danger to drivers in the Holywells ward.

However, Suffolk Highways said that it had already completed the work on February 12, but some residents did not believe the work was enough to fix the road. 

Finally, on March 13, a huge sinkhole appeared in High Street close to Ipswich Museum. 

The sinkhole was cordoned off.

Ipswich borough councillor Martin Cook said potholes can cause Ipswich drivers to pay out for repairs. (Image: Cllr Martin Cook)

Ipswich Borough Council's Labour executive for resources Martin Cook said that the committee at the Conservative-run county council makes promises each year to fix the potholes - but drivers can be left counting the cost to repair damages to vehicles.

He added: “The potholes cratering the roads of Suffolk are a visible sign of decline in our public services.

"Since privatising it, the county council have lost control of Suffolk’s highways service and completely failed on the routine maintenance of our roads.

"The result is a huge number of emergency and piecemeal patch repairs, which are often short-lived and represent the least cost-effective way imaginable of looking after our roads."