Over 8,000 road defects reported in Wrexham in last three years

More than 8,000 road defects have been reported in Wrexham county borough during the last three financial years, new figures have shown.

Data regarding potholes, damaged ironworks and resurfacing queries has been released by Wrexham Council after we submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The figures show 3,235 defects were reported in 2021/22, 2,357 in 2022/23 and 2,445 during the most recent financial year ending in early April.

Details of the ten oldest pothole reports which have yet to be fixed have also been provided, with one highlighted on March 14th last year on Short Lane Road in Newbridge being the oldest of them all.

More information on the others, almost all of which are in rural locations, can be seen below:

Other parts of our request, including how many of the defect reports actually led to repairs and the average time taken for defects to be fixed, were not answered as the council said it did not hold the information.

We also separately asked for details of the amount spent on road resurfacing in the same period.

The figure stood at £4,239,954 in 2021/22 but was reduced significantly the following year to £1,211,940. This was followed by an uplift to £1,745,704 in 2023/24.

The council said it was not aware of how much money it would cost to bring all the roads in the local authority area into a state of good repair.

This is despite such a figure previously being quoted in meetings by senior officers.

We have long documented frustrations over potholes in Wrexham dating back many years.

In May this year, we reported how one councillor was subjected to an ‘attempted assault’ at her home because a member of the public was angry that her car had been damaged by potholes.

Last month, a petition was launched which has since been signed by hundreds of people calling for the urgent resurfacing of a notorious and “dangerous” stretch of Summerhill Road.

In October last year, members of Wrexham Council’s environment scrutiny committee said they were keen to see potholes dealt with quicker by the local authority.

During the meeting, highways officer Huw Ap Dewi explained that pothole repairs are prioritised according to their severity, and how often a road is used.

Pant and Johnstown Cllr Steve Joe Jones (Ind) said he was concerned about the time taken from reporting a pothole for a repair to be carried out.

However, the council’s lead member for the environment, Rossett Cllr Hugh Jones (Con), said funding could be a barrier to quicker repairs.

He said: “I hope the council will provide the department with the necessary funds to meet your aspirations.

“As a local member they are aspirations I too would share, I just hope we have the money to do it.”