West Sussex County Council has spent over £4m on potholes

The information was revealed thanks to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Legal Expert.

The FOI revealed that the council spends more than 70% of its budget on work to reduce the number of potholes that form in the first place.

20,326 potholes were reported to the council between 2025/26 and £4.85 million was spent on repairs and maintenance.

The council told Legal Expert that it does not keep separate records of the cost of temporary repairs.

In 2025/2026, however, it raised around 50,000 safety defects for its motorway contractor and carried out 1,080 temporary repairs.

Many of these were followed by a permanent repair.

A council spokesperson said: “West Sussex County Council received 20,326 pothole reports during 2025/6 and is investing £4.8 million in repairs to the county’s highest network.

“These figures reflect both the scale of the network we maintain and our ongoing commitment to keeping the roads safe and serviceable for residents.

“In addition to the repair of reported defects, we continue to invest in preventive maintenance and recovery programs to improve road conditions and reduce the number of potholes that form in the future.

“Further information on how we maintain and manage West Sussex’s highways can be found in our recently published Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report, available on our website.”

Data obtained by Legal Expert shows the council paid £236,053.10 in compensation claims during 2023/24.

In 2024/25 the figure dropped to £110,176.10 and reduced to £21,682.77 in 2025/26.

Simon Williams, RAC head of policy, said: “Potholes are often associated with cold or wet winters, but extended periods of warm, sunny weather also take their toll on the roads.

“Intense UV exposure and heat slowly oxidize the bitumen that binds asphalt together, making surfaces more brittle and prone to cracking. Once cracks develop, traffic and subsequent rainfall can quickly turn them into serious defects.

“After the exceptional heat this summer, it is even more important that we maintain our roads properly.

“We have to surface dressing roads are still in reasonable condition to keep them that what. This includes the spread of chippings on fresh bitumen binder and seal them against the ingress of water, which is the enemy as it leads to cracks and potholes.”