The council inspects and repairs potholes, carrying out safety inspections, both routine and emergency, on a regular basis.
The highway inspectors carry out a risk assessment to identify all defects during a safety inspection, combining their visual observation with the application of measurable investigation criteria, to determine the category the defect is to be placed within.
Criteria relating to the nature and severity of the defect, the location of the defect within the footway or carriageway and the type of highway and its usage are all considered by the highway inspector as part of the risk assessment to determine an appropriate course of action.
| Defect type | Response time category |
|---|---|
| Potholes at designated pedestrian crossing points in excess of 25mm deep | 2 |
| Potholes in excess of 40mm deep | 2 |
| Ironwork with exposed vertical faces in excess of 40mm | 2 |
| Ironwork with gaps in excess of 40mm | 2 |
| Cracked or broken ironwork in danger of collapse | 1 |
| Missing ironwork | 1 |
| Rocking ironwork with a vertical movement exceeding 20mm | 2 |
| Defective highway drainage which results in standing water, over 50mm deep, restricting the carriageway width to less than two thirds of its total width | 2 |
| Missing, damaged or defective crash barrier or parapet fencing that could pose a danger to the highway user | 1 |
| Defect type | Response time category |
|---|---|
| Potholes in excess of 25mm deep | 2 |
| Rocking flags with a vertical movement exceeding 25mm | 2 |
| Kerb ridges, projections and gaps greater than 25mm | 2 |
| Missing, damaged or defective pedestrian guardrails that could pose a danger to the highway user | 1 |
| Ironwork with exposed vertical faces in excess of 25mm | 2 |
| Ironwork with gaps in excess of 25mm | 2 |
| Cracked or broken ironwork in danger of collapse | 1 |
| Missing ironwork | 1 |
| Rocking ironwork with a vertical movement exceeding 25mm | 2 |
| Standing water in excess of 25mm deep that restricts the footway width to less than 1000mm | 2 |
| Illegal obstruction reducing the footway width to less than 1000mm | 2 |
Please note that missing or damaged ironwork may be the responsibility of a utility company. In these circumstances, the authority's street works co-ordinator will manage any non-action by the utility company following telephone or email notification by the safety inspector.