MORE than 17,000 potholes have been reported on Argyll and Bute's road network in the past six years, according to new figures.
A Freedom of Information request by climate change action group Round Our Way has revealed the number of potholes which have been registered in 115 UK council areas between January 2018 and November 2023.
And out of 19 Scottish council areas who supplied data – just over half of the authorities in the country – Argyll and Bute was found to have the seventh highest cumulative number of potholes across that period.
The data also showed that the year-on-year number rose from 3,113 in 2022, to 3,357 in 2023 - despite the survey only running until November of the latter year.
In total, there have been 17,487 potholes registered in Argyll and Bute over the six-year spell.
READ MORE: Councillors' concern over pothole payouts in Argyll and Bute
Glasgow City Council had the highest number of potholes registered in the survey, with a total of 81,894.
Edinburgh City Council did not supply any data.
Argyll and Bute’s neighbouring Highland Council had slightly fewer potholes over the six years, with a total of 16,818.
Its other neighbour, West Dunbartonshire, also had no figures recorded in the data distributed by the campaign group.
Round Our Way director Roger Harding said: “Potholes are the bane of many of our lives and put drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians at risk of serious injury.
“The weather extremes that climate change brings are sadly creating many more of them at a time when cuts mean repairs are already not keeping up.
“No one should have to risk injury or breakdown to get from A to B locally. More investment is needed in repairs and new materials, but we also need politicians to get serious about tackling the climate change that is increasingly causing potholes in the first place.”
An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: “According to the results of the most recent Scottish Roads Maintenance Condition Survey, road conditions in Argyll and Bute have steadily improved over the past eight years.
READ MORE: Pothole compensation claims 'have more than halved' in Argyll and Bute since 2019
“This is thanks to prudent investment and sensible engineering solutions to make best use of our budget. We’ve also secured £10m from the Scottish Timber Transport Fund over the past 10 years to enhance our roads’ programme.
“The council is responsible for maintaining 2,300km of public roads. That’s just over 4 per cent of the Scottish total.
"Twenty-four per cent of these roads are built on peat, which makes repairs more difficult.
"Only six other Scottish local authorities have a longer road network than Argyll and Bute.”
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