Figures show Cardiff Council has spent almost £200,000 on pothole-related issues in the last four years
Potholes cause serious damage to vehicles and can prove dangerous(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
The roads in Cardiff where the most complaints about potholes are made have been revealed. New data released in a freedom of information request also disclosed the tens of thousands of pounds Cardiff Council has spent over the last four years in maintenance and compensation.
The data obtained by cinch shows that from January 2022 to October 2025 Cardiff Council spent £103,907 on pothole repairs including both planned and reactive maintenance. In this time they also spent £92,793.88 on compensation to drivers who had damage to their vehicle as a result of potholes in the city.
Nuisance potholes have therefore set the council back just shy of £200,000 in the space of four years. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here.
The figures detail how 436 drivers submitted compensation claims of which 110 were successfully paid out.
The roads with the highest number of pothole reports each year
- 2022 – Newport Road
- 2023 – Rover Way
- 2024 – Ty-Nant Road
- 2025 – Newport Road
Rover Way and Newport Road are two of the most-used roads in the city meaning they have an increased chance of pothole problems arising. The higher the number of cars using a road the more strain is put on it and wear and tear is accelerated.
In the last four years the council has repaired tens of thousands of potholes. From 2022 to 2025 they fixed 67,662 potholes and the latest data from the 2025 calendar year shows that from January 1 to September 30, 2025, the council had repaired 10,047 potholes.
From 2022 to 2025 a total of 12,967 potholes were reported to the council by drivers.
There are several causes which can be to blame for the appearance of potholes. They can be a result of cold and wet weather which causes water to freeze, expand, and break the road.
They can also be caused by ageing road surfaces, heavier vehicles, increased volume of traffic, and the use of short-term repair strategies which prove less durable.
The research shows that across Great Britain local authorities have carried out 4,952,744 pothole repairs since the start of 2022. The top three councils were Devon, Surrey, and the Scottish Borders with rural, coastal, and commuter regions proving to be plagued most by the problem.
