Over 10,000 potholes were fixed across Stoke-on-Trent over the past year and now, Council Leader Jane Ashworth says residents can expect even more repairs as the weather starts to warm.

The authority has already budgeted £12 million to fix the roads and is negotiating with government for more money.

In May last year the City Council launched a crackdown on potholes, aiming to fill 6,000 in 12 months. This target was beaten in just six months after filling 6,500 potholes across the city.

Launching the campaign DRIVE, which stands for deliver, restore, invest, versatile and effective, the approach for the campaign, Councillor Amjid Wazir, the council deputy leader, said: "Enough is enough. We have to do something about our roads".

This came as the previous 12 months saw more than 6,000 complaints over the state of the city's roads.

Now speaking at a recent meeting at Sandyford and Goldenhill Residents Association, Council Leader, Jane Ashworth said that dangerous potholes continued to be filled despite challenging conditions over winter.

She commented: "If we clear potholes in Winter there is a fair chance that they'll pop-up again.

"So we're stuck – damned if we do and damned if we don't. What we intend to do is fix the dangerous ones and basically wait until the weather stops freezing over and do the rest.

"So we're now slap bang running into the middle of pothole fixing season. So you're going to see a lot more pothole fixing going on than there was in the cold months."

A recent Freedom of Information request revealed that between 2020 and 2024 Stoke-on-Trent City Council forked out £371,914 over insurance claims. Recent trends suggest that the situation is only going to get worse.

It was confirmed that the council are currently in talks with the government on access to additional funding to carry out road repairs.

It is hoped that the council will conduct more preventative road repairs, which will extend the life of the road, compared to piecemeal repairs.

The council leader added: "My ambition, if we can muster the money to do it, is make such a hit on the roads that look like they're about to crack, that we get to them before next Winter so they don't crack during that winter spell."

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