Croydon has been crowned London's 'pothole capital'

• Croydon has been named the pothole capital of London.
• The London borough is the fourth ‘worst place for potholes’ in the UK.
• Recent data revealed there were more than 11,000 recorded potholes in 2024 in Croydon.

Two London boroughs has been named among the top 5 worst places for potholes in the UK.

While Newcastle Upon Tyne takes the top spot for having the country’s most pothole-ridden roads, Croydon has been named the pothole capital of London (ranking 4th overall in the UK.)

In 2024, the London borough reported 1,429 potholes per 100 kilometres of road. When looking at the UK areas where the most has been spent on pothole repairs, Croydon takes the top spot. Over £500,000 has been spent on repairing Croydon’s pothole-plagued roads.

Waltham Forest has the second-highest number of potholes in London.

As well as having the second-highest number of reported potholes in London, Waltham Forest ranks 5th in the UK overall.

1,160 potholes were recorded per 100 kilometres of road in 2024, which marks a 115% increase between 2020-2024. Waltham Forest ranks in the top 10 UK areas where the least amount has been spent on repairing potholes at £28,214.

The borough of Hackney has reported one of the lowest figures in the number of potholes between 2020-2024, with an increase of just 6%. In 2024, 873 potholes were reported across the borough per 100,000 kilometres of road.

Despite this, Hackney has spent over £177,000 on pothole repairs, which is the 7th highest in the UK.

The study also revealed the following about London boroughs:

• Over one in five (21%) of London residents believe that potholes across the capital are rarely or never fixed. One in three (32%) of motorists in London said on at least one occasion their vehicle had been damaged due to potholes.

• Over the past 5 years, Bexley has seen the biggest increase in potholes across the local area. The number of potholes in the London borough quadrupled (400%) from 442 to 2,184, despite a brief drop in 2022, where only 392 potholes were recorded.

• The London borough of Croydon spent the most on pothole repairs in 2024. Across the 12 months, £517,746 was spent on pothole repairs per 100 kilometres of road, which is equivalent to £5,177 per kilometre.

James Harding, a motoring expert with 15 years of experience at Blackcircles, commented:“Reports have suggested that the estimated cost of repairing England and Wales’ pothole-plagued roads could amount to almost £17bn. The quality of the country’s roads has been heavily in the spotlight over recent weeks, with the Prime Minister pledging £1.6bn towards fixing the pothole pandemic the UK faces, but many believe more needs to be done.

“Our latest research has uncovered the worst-hit areas of the UK for potholes, and Newcastle comes out on top. The northwest city reported 3,275 potholes per 100 kilometres of road, and our survey revealed that a third of local motorists have suffered damage to their vehicle at least once due to the city’s potholes.

“As well as being a nuisance to motorists around the country, potholes are also putting a financial strain on local councils. The findings from our report revealed that Croydon was the area of the UK where the highest amount was spent repairing potholes, at over £500,000 per 100 kilometres of road. When combining the total cost spent on pothole repairs across the top 10 local authorities in our research, over £2.2 million has been spent, further highlighting the impact the quality of UK roads has on the country’s finances.”