Road safety in West Sussex now runs on a defined escalation path: potholes posing an immediate risk to the public should be reported by phone on 01243 642105, a line staffed by the Highways Customer Service Centre from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays. Outside those hours, calls are automatically redirected to an out-of-hours service, ensuring genuine emergencies are not left unattended overnight or over a weekend.
Who Handles What - and Why It Matters
Not every road falls under the same authority, and knowing the difference saves time when reporting a hazard. The A23, A27 and M23 are managed by National Highways rather than the county council, so faults on these routes need to go directly to that organisation. Private roads sit outside any council responsibility entirely - repairs there fall to the residents who own or maintain them. This division of responsibility reflects a broader pattern across UK infrastructure management, where strategic roads, local roads and private roads each carry distinct maintenance obligations and funding sources.
How Repairs Are Prioritised
West Sussex Highways does not treat every reported defect identically. Routine inspections feed into a risk-based system that determines how quickly a pothole gets fixed, based largely on its size:
- Potholes deeper than 100mm and wider than 150mm are typically repaired within 5 working days.
- Potholes between 40mm and 100mm deep, and 150mm wide, are usually addressed within 28 days.
- Potholes shallower than 40mm are generally not repaired immediately but are reviewed at the next scheduled inspection.
This tiered approach is common practice among UK highway authorities, allowing limited maintenance budgets to be directed first toward defects most likely to cause accidents, vehicle damage or injury to cyclists and pedestrians. The full methodology behind these assessments is set out in the council's Highways Inspection Manual, which governs both routine inspection schedules and the criteria used to judge risk.
The Practical Implication for Residents
The system draws a firm line between emergencies and routine reports. A pothole that could cause a serious collision - one appearing suddenly on a busy carriageway, for instance - warrants a direct phone call rather than a standard online submission, since the phone line connects to a team equipped to trigger urgent action. Less severe defects still get logged and assessed, but within the slower 28-day or next-inspection timeframes. For residents, understanding this distinction matters: it determines whether a report reaches the right desk quickly, and whether expectations around repair timing are realistic. It also underscores a wider truth about local infrastructure management - with finite resources, consistent risk assessment, rather than reactive fixing, is what keeps roads usable and accountable.