Council pledges further £3.5m to tackle road surface issue in Blackpool

Tuesday, 3 March 2026 13:39

By Richard Hunt

Fed-up Blackpool residents say the town’s roads are the ‘number one’ issue they want to raise with the council, with a record number of complaints about potholes in the last three years.

In her budget speech last week, Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, acknowledged the issue and pledged a further £3.5 million for a new programme of works.

Council figures show that in 2025, the public flagged up 502 complaints, and in 2024 there were 736, more than twice the average number since 2012, while there were 570 in 2023. The total number of complaints for that period was 1,808, compared with 1,070 reports from 2020 to 2022.

However, there were fewer potholes fixed in these last three years – 8,139 compared to 9,123 over the previous three years, despite nearly twice the number of complaints.

Residents have been quick to raise the topic of roads when quizzed on the doorstep.

Cllr Williams says millions have been spent on Blackpool’s roads in recent years but she acknowledged the issue remained the hottest topic with residents.

She said in her budget speech: “The number one issue raised with us on the doorstep is roads.

“We have spent millions over the last few years in improving the quality of our roads, but there remains much we want to do.

“We are investing £15m as part of the Town Centre Access Scheme, this will help all the new commuters that are coming into the town centre, as well as those who need to traverse the town centre.

“Blackpool wasn’t designed for cars, but for trams, trains and public transport, so are making changes that make it work better for everyone.

“We have already invested £3.3m in improving road surfaces this year, this delivers more than 57,500 square metres of resurfacing and we have a further £3.5m programmed to start. “

However, Blackpool is by no means alone in regards to complaints about potholes.

The UK is experiencing a severe, long-term pothole crisis, with over 1 million estimated road defects causing a surge in vehicle breakdowns and costing drivers roughly £645 million in damages in 2025.

Despite, millions in repairs, 58 percent of drivers feel road quality has worsened, with a £14 billion repair backlog.