Wednesday March 18th 2026
Pothole
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Roads officers in West Lothian will look at ways to improve the reporting of their work on pothole repairs across the county.
Councillors agreed a composite motion on the back of the budget decision to £2m in the next two years in a rolling programme of repairs to tackle to the worst hit roads in the county.
Councillor Pauline Orr, who tabled a composite motion with fellow Linlithgow councillor Tom Conn said in her original motion that the spend was welcomed but more communication was needed with the public.
Her motion said: “Increased investment was agreed at Budget on 24th February – £1m per annum over the next two years.
“The commitment shown is welcomed and we look forward to seeing how that investment is used – leasing/hiring appropriate equipment, recruiting additional staff etc. to undertake works to permanently repair potholes and remedy road defects.”
She added that the council needed to improve public awareness about road diversions necessary to carry out repairs and the wider repair programme. The public also needs better awareness of the repair process dependant on severity and the lead in times.
The motion which went before full council urged:-
– officers to bring biannual reports on performance in respect of potholes and roads defects at a ward level to Local Area Committees
– Require officers to bring biannual reports on performance in respect of potholes and road defects at a Council level to the relevant PDSP.
– Agree that enhanced reporting will provide transparency on the number of potholes reported and repaired and also the costs involved. Reporting should differentiate between temporary and permanent repairs
Councillor Conn suggested regular reports should be made by roads officers to meetings at ward level – essentially reporting directly to councillors on the local area committees of the work programmes under way.
Plans are set to come before the next Council Executive.
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