THE number of roads affected by potholes in the Vale of Glamorgan has fallen substantially since 2011, according to new findings from the BBC.

Data shows the percentage of roads in the county requiring maintenance has fallen from 13.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent over the past six years.

However the figures show that 15 of the country’s 21 other local authorities are still performing better than the Vale, with the average number of roads in Wales requiring maintenance standing at 7.7 per cent.

This is despite the Vale area having a relatively low surface area of roads in comparison to other counties, with just 70.87km of A roads – the sixth lowest, and 847.4km of minor roads – the seventh-lowest in the country.

Seemingly aided by the council’s ‘Big Fill’ campaign however, which has aimed to reduce the number of potholes on local roads, the Vale has been among the biggest improvers during the period analysed.

More than £1.4 million has been spent on repairing roads in Wales alone in the past five years, with the annual figure increasing from just over £230,000 in 2012/13 to £348,316 in 2016/17.

Figures overall for Wales showed that roads were of generally poorer quality than in neighbouring England, with a greater proportion of roads in Powys requiring repairs – an average of 19.6 per cent over the past five years – than anywhere else in the UK.

A Welsh Local Government Association spokesman said: “Clearly, local authorities would like to achieve a high standard on all the roads for which they are responsible.

“However, they need the resources to do this.

“Continued investment in the network is needed and this is difficult when budgets are being cut year on year. The highways are an essential asset and cutting back on maintenance is not a sustainable choice.”