Report a road problem

• To report problems in the city of Leicester contact Leicester City Council

• For potholes and issues on motorways or major A-roads Report it to National Highways

• Non-offensive graffiti, fly tipping and abandoned vehicles should be reported to your district council.

Report it online

You can report most types of problems with county roads, pavements and public rights of way online.

Reporting online ensures we can use our Highway Management System to direct your report to the right place – select the link to report the problem directly:

• Drain or manhole cover damage
• Grass cutting
• Grit bins - request a new one, report damage or a refill
• Illegal parking
• Kerb damage
• Obstruction including spillage and mud
• Overgrown tree or hedge
• Pothole (contact National Highways to report motorway or major A-road potholes)
• Public right of way
• Road marking
• Road sign
• Roadside drain or gulley blockage
• Roadworks (including collection of road signs / equipment following works)
• Street furniture (Fence / railing / barrier / bollard)
• Street lights
• Traffic lights, temporary or permanent
• Trip hazard
• Other / Something else

Road problems outside our responsibility

We are not responsible for dealing with every road problem. You may need to report your problem directly to other agencies such as National Highways, Leicester City Council and Leicestershire district councils.

How we deal with road problems

Potholes

All potholes will need to be categorised before repairs can be scheduled.

Except for emergency defects, the council will attempt to inspect and categorise all potholes, as soon as is reasonable, and within 10 working days of the original report to decide the level of response needed.

A pothole is classified according to 3 categories, and temporary or permanent repairs are carried out in line with our response times – these have been developed using a risk-based assessment.*

Category 1

Need prompt attention, because they represent:

• an immediate or imminent hazard
• because there is a risk of short-term structural deterioration (including carriageway potholes more than 40mm and footway potholes more than 20mm). 

*Carriageway, footway and footpath response times in working days are: 3 days, 5 days, 10 day or 15 days (in line with the road hierarchy).

Category 2

Need attention, but do not:

• represent an immediate or imminent hazard (including carriageway potholes up to 40mm and footway potholes up to 20mm).

*Carriageway, footway and footpath working days response times are: 60 days, 75 days or 90 days (in line with the road hierarchy).

Note: For the above categories, in some cases we may need to carry out a temporary repair to make safe. This may be followed by a permanent repair.

Category 3

These don’t meet our policy intervention level, but may be noted for future maintenance. The condition of the pothole will be assessed at the next scheduled inspection, or if we get third-party reports of deterioration. The repairs may be carried out as resources become available.

Emergency response

These are incidents, which because of their nature, size and/or location are:

• an immediate hazard or serious risk to the public.

Note: Emergency incidents and defects, usually reported through the emergency services, will be corrected or made safe at the time of the inspection, if it is practical to do so.

Making safe may need the displaying of warning signs, coning-off, fencing-off or closing the highway or other actions to protect you.

If the inspection team can’t make the incident or defect safe at the time of inspection, they’ll employ the relevant emergency call procedures and resources.

We aim to make sure our response to the emergency, is as soon as possible, and given high priority.

Trees and hedges

Hedges and trees in general, are the responsibility of the adjacent landowner, although a small proportion do form part of the highway assets.

It may be worth notifying the adjacent landowner before contacting us, as they might be able to resolve the issue.

For hedges, we will ensure an inspector visits and investigates the problem within 14 days. Routine cutting of our highway owned hedges is restricted to between October and February, to avoid bird nesting season.

For privately owned tree and hedge issues, we will find out who is responsible and ask them to cut them back within a reasonable timescale. If the tree or hedge owner does not take action, enforcement of privately owned over-grown trees or hedges is required to follow a legal process. The timescale for the legal process can vary but is likely to take at least 6 months to resolve, and the end result may not entail cutting back the vegetation fully, but cutting back enough for safe use of the highway.

We maintain trees on roadside verges, roundabouts, pavements, and land we own in Leicestershire. Reports on council owned trees can be made online.

Leicestershire County Council will only take action on overgrown hedges if it is considered a safety issue. Overgrown hedges next to footpaths and roads can pose a safety issue particularly to people who are disabled, who are visually impaired, and to young children. If the pavement (footway) is narrow or the obstruction is excessive, they may be forced into the road. This is particularly dangerous for wheelchair users or for people pushing a pram or a buggy. On junctions and bends, overgrown hedges may obstruct sight lines and the clear view of motorists. They may also obscure traffic signs or streetlights, increasing the risk of accidents.

If what you are reporting is considered a hedging safety issue, as above, you can report it online:

Report an overgrown hedge problem  

Weed spraying

There is a weed spraying schedule by borough or district within Leicestershire.

Further support

You can report any other highway issues by using the Customer Services contact form online. You will need to have an existing Self account or register for one to use the form.

Customer Services contact form