On Sunday, 15th January, we celebrated National Pothole Day across the UK and Ireland, and with the team here at Meon being committed to delivering great surfaces, we wanted to continue to help spread awareness. This year we teamed up and spent a day with Leicestershire County Council.

A survey carried out by the BBC News advised the number of potholes filled in by councils in England and Wales increased year on year to almost 1.7 million. The Asphalt Industry Alliance said this figure – up 200,000 from 1.5 million in 2019-20 – equated to one being fixed every 19 seconds.

The total amount spent by local authorities on filling in potholes in 2020-1 was £93.6m, it added. The government said it was working to ensure “smoother, safer journeys”.

Potholes – collapsed areas in the tarmac resulting from the pressure of traffic and bad weather – can be dangerous to motorists and, in particular, cyclists. Hitting a pothole is a very unpleasant experience for anyone who drives a car, van, lorry and especially any type of bike.

We’ve all been there; one minute you’re driving along and suddenly, boom! The anxious feeling over the next 100 metres as you try to work out if your car is damaged. You turn down the music…can you hear if there’s anything hanging off your car? Has the engine changed tone? Is the vehicle tracking still in line? Why’s the car veering to the left?

That’s why National Pothole Day was created…to highlight the ever-growing problem of potholes on our roads. It was nationally established in 2015 and was created to help the public to report road damage to their local authority. The way to report your road defects is to log on to fixmystreet.com and enter all the details your local council will need. #NoMorePotholesUK

Working in collaboration, helping to drive awareness for National Pothole Day 2023…

As with previous years we went out on the road to help bring awareness to National Pothole Day. So this year Meon spent the day with Leicestershire County Council, showcasing and trialling a variety of new and existing innovative repair solutions from within our Magma range!

During the day Meon used two products designs to help Local Authorities in their drive in reducing carbon when carrying out surface repairs out on the network. The first product was Meon’s Magma PatchMaster H576, an all-weather  cold-lay material. The second product was Meon’s new water activated material, showcasing this new innovative product live on the network.

Russell Smallridge, Head of Decarbonisation at Meon, said: “Repairing potholes isn’t just about the job to be done now, it’s about considering the whole-life impact of what we do now and what will need to be done in the future. Cold-lay ‘systems that last’ minimise the need for return visits and are key to ensure we support the Project Highways Zero campaign through saving on carbon output and subsequently costs.”

“Historically, cold-lay repairs have been considered temporary and prone to failure. Revoluitonary new binder technology has dispelled that myth, the PatchMaster H576 material has an incredible ability to simply just ‘stick&stay’ in place. Time will tell but we’re confident all stakeholders will be impressed with how the product performs over the next 12 months+.” 

Volunteering their time, Meon set out with a small team, working with the Leicestershire County Council team, to hit some pothole hotspots. The aim to perminantly repair problem pothole defeats, using a variety of innovative repair solutions from within our Magma range.

Garry Sibson, Works Manager at Leicestershire County Council, had this to say on the day:  “When we are looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint there are a few key drivers we have included in our Decarbonisation Strategy. Anything we can introduce to reduce carbon such as single visit pothole repairs will help in this strategy. This along with other initative such as electric vehicle, or the introduction of new materials such as the ones Meon are showcasing today will make a big difference.”

“Another massively important aspect is the introduction of cold-lay materials, and the removal of the need for hot works. Coupled with improvements in health & safety, for both operator and general public, it has been great to see these materials in action. Reducing time on site and shorterning Traffic Management time will play a massive part, enabling us to fix it right; fix it good first time!”

Neil Potter, Head of Marketing at Meon, added: “Being able to work with partners across the supply chain in this innovative approach is crucial to help the future growth within our industry, and Meon welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with Leicestershire County Council to delivery this outsourced trial site project on a fee FREE basis. Not only does this help build a better future for the industry, it also helps the local community in fixing the problem potholes long-term! ” 

Watch highlights of our National Pothole Day 2023 and the interview with Leicester County Council’s Garry Sibson…

If you want to know more about the cold-lay permanent pothole repair products we used then get in touch today by calling 023 9220 0606 or emailing us at mail@meonuk.com.