Our plan to sort potholes

In our last post we talked about how Lib Dem Councils have the best record on recycling because they focus on implementation details not just talk about doing things i theory

In an earlier post FIX OUR ROADS! - Babergh Liberal Democrats  we talked about the lamentable performance of Conservative run Suffolk County Council in fixing potholes one of only 7 county / unitary areas rated red by the Department for Transport in January 2026  and compared that with the performance of neighbouring Cambridgeshire and said if you elect LibDem councillors we would do something about the dangerous state of our roads

A recent Freedom of Information request showed that in the period 2025 (Jan–Nov): 13,564 potholes were repaired compared to 20,689 repaired in 2024

So if you thought our roads were getting worse you would be right. Repair numbers have been declining

What's more the Intervention threshold is harsh. Suffolk will only repair a pothole that is at least 4cm deep AND at least 20cm wide. Anything smaller is “monitored.” Then, when they do fix it, repairs take “between 10 working days and 8 calendar weeks” depending on road priority. That’s up to two months. Compare that to Cambridgeshire where they must be 4cm deep AND  only 7.5cm wide. In cycleways the figures are  only 25mm deep AND 7.5cm wide because cycleways need to be smoother for the user. Category 1 faults are fixed in 21 days

In plain English: Suffolk requires a pothole to be nearly three times wider before they’ll fix it compared to Cambridgeshire. And Suffolk uses the same threshold for cycleways as for roads, meaning Suffolk cyclists get the same minimum standard as a fully-suspension-protected car driver — even though a pothole that barely registers in a car can throw a cyclist off their bike.

Is it any wonder a local Ipswich garage has told the BBC that pothole-related car repairs have doubled in the last year.

What Lib Dems would do on Suffolk’s roads

• Shift from patch-and-repair to proper preventative resurfacing. A traditional pothole repair costs around £80 and fails within 18 months on a worn road; a proper resurfacing is cheaper over the life of the road. Suffolk has systematically under-invested in prevention for years. The Cambridgeshire approach — record investment into resurfacing, surface dressing and preventative work — is the template.
• Lower the intervention threshold for Suffolk’s roads and cycleways — in line with, or better than, Cambridgeshire’s standards. No cyclist should be told their safety doesn’t warrant a pothole fix because the hole isn’t 20 centimetres wide.
• Publish a public, ward-by-ward road condition dashboard — transparency as a lever for performance. If residents in Whitton can see how many potholes are outstanding in their area, pressure builds on the council to fix them.
• Deploy Dragon Patchers and LiDAR/AI surveying across Suffolk — proven, cheap ( cost to fix potholes halved) fast, and used to great effect in Cambridgeshire. LiDAR-equipped survey vehicles plus AI-powered defect detection — proactively identifying where the road surface is about to fail before the pothole forms. Suffolk, by contrast, is still largely reactive. There is o reason Suffolk shouldn’t have them.
• Tighten the repair contract. Cambridgeshire doesn’t pay for substandard work and audits a percentage of every batch of repairs. Suffolk should do the same.
• Ring-fence a proper cycling and walking budget. Active Travel England funding has been available for years, but Suffolk has been slow to claim and deploy it. Lib Dems would put a dedicated cycling and active travel lead into the new unitary from day one.
• Safe, segregated cycle routes linking Ipswich’s sixth form colleges and University of Suffolk — One Sixth Form College, Suffolk New College, Northgate, Ipswich Academy, Copleston, Chantry. Students should not have to take their lives in their hands on the A1214 or on Foxhall Road to get to class.
• Back 20mph zones in residential Ipswich areas — reduces injuries, encourages walking and cycling, costs relatively little.

It isn’t rocket science to get on top of the issue of potholes but it does require a detailed plan and a desire to make it happen. Elect Liberal Democrats and we will make it happen. In Cambridgeshire it is already a reality!