Southend-on-Sea has the worst roads in England – new survey

New research has revealed that Southend-on-Sea has the worst roads in the country. Looking at the average percentage of roads requiring maintenance between 2018 and 2023 according to Department for Transport figures, car check expert Motorscan said the coastal town in southeast England had an average percentage of 24.6 per cent of B and C roads requiring maintenance between 2018 and 2023, the highest figure of any area in the country. This, combined with 15.6 per cent of A roads requiring maintenance in the same period, means that it comes in as the area with the worst roads in England.

Derbyshire comes in second place on the list. Between 2018 and 2023, 14.7 per cent of A roads were judged to require maintenance on average, and in the same period, 21.2 per cent of B and C were also found to need maintenance in the East Midlands local authority.

Coming in third place is Hackney, which also comes as the first London borough to feature on the list. Although the percentage of B and C roads requiring maintenance was significantly lower than other entries with just 9 per cent, for A roads, this sat at 16 per cent on average between 2018 and 2023, giving it the third-place position.

The local authority for the city of Derby comes in fourth place on the list. In the area, 9.7 per cent of A roads required maintenance between 2018 and 2023, with more issues for B and C roads, where 14 per cent required maintenance on average.

Rounding out the top five is the second London borough to feature, with Newham. 12.3 per cent of all A roads were judged to require maintenance between 2018 and 2023, followed by B and C roads, where 11.4 per cent were also found to require maintenance.

Commenting on the findings, Oliver Thompson, head of vehicle intelligence at Motorscan, said: “With these results featuring areas from many different parts of the country, it shows that road maintenance is an issue all over. With so many London boroughs featuring in the list, it even highlights that the country’s capital even has big issues with its roads. While poor road maintenance can mean issues for your car, with risk of damage being done, it can also have a big effect on road safety as well.”