Pothole FAQs

What are the pothole repair teams?

The pothole repair teams are two teams set up by the council to tackle the problem of potholes. Their aim will be to fix a pothole within 48 hours of it being reported online.

Sometimes their work will cause traffic delays but we'll try to keep them to a minimum. Our aim is to keep traffic on the go by fixing potholes as quickly as possible.

If you want to keep updated on our progress over time, have a look at the fixed pothole page.

What is a pothole?

A pothole happens when the surface of a road or footpath breaks up. This may be caused by many different factors, from weather and heavy traffic to general wear and tear.

The council has set a definition of pothole in accordance with an all Wales standard and to meet its duties under the 'Well Maintained Highways Code of Good Practice'. In general this refers to a depth of 50mm on a road and 25mm on a footway. These levels are applied to all safety inspections and routine work.

With our new pothole teams we will endeavour to repair every pothole reported online to the council whether it is 50mm deep or shallower than that.

What information do I need to report a pothole?

You can report a pothole online or visit Civic Centre where we can help you through the form.

We need clear information about the location and shape of the pothole so that we can find it and fill it as quickly as we can.

Please tell us the street name and use the map or describe where it is exactly. You can take a photo on your smartphone and upload it and describe the location, for example outside which property, is it in the middle of the road or near the kerb and which side of the road.

While a street name is essential, the more information you can provide the more likely we are to find and repair the problem.

There will be occasions when we won't be able to find the pothole if the details you give are not precise enough.

What happens after I report a pothole?

If it is an emergency pothole that poses a serious risk to road users our emergency team will fix it within 24 hours. If it is a 48 hour pothole it will be dealt with under our pothole pledge.

This means that if you report a non-emergency pothole on a Friday night, Saturday or Sunday, the 48 hour pledge will kick-in from first thing on Monday, so the pothole should be fixed within 48 hours of 9.00am Monday, weather permitting.

What happens if I report lots of potholes on a stretch of road?

Please report the largest potholes on the stretch of road, being as accurate as you can about their locations. We will tackle those potholes as our priority.

We can only tackle potholes however, and if the road as a whole is in poor condition we will repair any safety issues. While we are there our teams will also look at the potential need for road resurfacing work and refer any major issues to our planned maintenance team.

Road resurfacing is different to pothole repairs and takes place in the context of other road re-surfacing priorities and our planned road maintenance programme. You can find out more about the planned road maintenance programme here and the work in different wards: Road resurfacing programme - minor repairs.

Can I report through apps or other websites?

You can use these apps and sites, but in many cases we do not get enough information from these sites which makes it extremely difficult to locate the potholes. There will also be a delay because these reports need additional admin time.

Please use the council pothole repair form here

Do I have to give an email address when reporting a pothole?

You will be asked for an email address when you report a pothole so we can report back to you when we have fixed the pothole. However, you don't have to provide one in order to report a pothole or for us to act on it.

If we don't have an email address it just means we won't be able to report back.

What does the 48-hour pothole repair plan mean?

We will be aiming to fix every pothole you report to us within 48 hours of it being reported (weather permitting). Not all road defects are potholes. However, if you report it online our Pothole Repair Teams will do their best to fix it within two days. Give us your email address and we'll even let you know when the pothole is fixed.

We already have an emergency response system which deal with a serious road defect within 24 hours. This will not change.

What happens if the weather is bad?

During periods of bad weather, when there's been heavy rain, snow or ice it won't be possible to fix all potholes within 48 hours. Our teams will be diverted to other work during these times like flooding on the roads or winter gritting etc.

As always we'll prioritise the emergencies and then aim to catch up as quickly as possible with the rest.

How many potholes a year does the council fill?

Last year the council fixed 12,185 road defects including potholes.

How many pothole teams does the council have?

We have 4 tarmac repair teams and 1 emergency team, so the new pothole repair teams will increase that number to 7. These teams cover a total of 1,000km of road and 1,500km of footway and average 360km per team.

In addition we have the small resurfacing scheme (SRS) team and an annual programme of planned work consisting of road resurfacing and pavement reconstruction. This work goes on all-year round and will continue because the PRTs will be available to respond rapidly and flexibly to your requests for potholes to be filled.

Are you stopping the PATCH team?

No. Our Priority Action Team for Community Highways (PATCH) team was established a few years ago however to avoid any confusion over the nature of the work it has been rebranded the Small Resurfacing Schemes (SRS) team. Its job has not changed and the team visit every single ward in the city every year to proactively identify and carry out small area structural repairs: Road resurfacing programme - minor repairs