THOUSANDS of road defects are being left unrepaired throughout Essex every year with the number of those left doubling between 2018 and 2021.

Statistics obtained by the Gazette following the submission of Freedom of Information requests to Essex County Council show the proportion of road defects mended by the authority in 2018 was as high as 84 per cent, with 17,750 repairs made out of a number of 21,079 reported by road users.

But that proportion fell by nearly 20 per cent the following year, and according to data relating to 2021, only 57 per cent of road defects were fixed by Essex County Council.

With 8,469 repairs made last year out of a total of 14,802 raised, it means 6,333 defects had been left unattended to going into the year 2022.

The statistics are particularly concerning given the recent news that Essex County Council investing less than half of the amount needed to correctly maintain its roads, footways, street lighting and other public rights of way.

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With the authority now totally reliant on the pothole fund provided by the Department for Transport, Essex County Council is now only able to invest £36 million per year of the £77 million required to maintain the assets.

A bid from an Essex County councillor Lee Scordis for the authority to declare a Highways emergency also fell on deaf ears.

The recent figures show the continued decline of Essex’s road network.

By the end of 2018, only 15.8 per cent of road defects in the county went unrepaired, with the exact number recorded at 3,329.

But at the end of last year, the percentage of untreated defects was 43 per cent, with 6,333 potholes left unattended to out of 14,802 raised by road users.

Statistics released by County Hall also showed that Colchester’s East Street received more customer service inquiries related to carriageway defects than any other road.

Although the exact number has not been revealed, it surpassed Waltham Abbey’s Sewardstone Road, which had previously received more complaints than any other road.