Funding at risk for councils over pothole fixes
March 24, 2025 by Siobhan Doyle
Car changing is a big deal
Local councils are under pressure to publish data showing how many potholes they’ve mended or risk losing their share of an extra £500m set aside for road repairs.
Starting in mid-April, local councils in England will begin receiving their share of the government’s record £1.6bn for road repairs, which includes an extra £500m – enough to fix 7 million potholes each year.
But to get the full funding, all councils must now publish yearly reports and show that the public trusts their work. If councils don’t meet these requirements, they could lose a quarter of the extra money – about £125m in total.
“After years of neglect we’re tackling the pothole plague, building vital roads and ensuring every penny is delivering results for the taxpayer,” said transport secretary Heidi Alexander. “The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why they will have to show progress or risk losing funding.”
By June 30, all councils must publish reports showing how much they’ve spent, how many potholes they’ve fixed, the condition of their roads, and how they’re reducing disruptions.
Councils will also need to show they’re spending more on long-term road repairs and have strong plans in place to handle wetter winters, which make potholes worse. This is to help prevent further damage to the roads in the future.
By the end of October, councils must prove they’re letting communities have a say in which roads need fixing and what work should be done. The public can also help by reporting potholes to their local council through an online portal.
The transport secretary has also unveiled £4.8bn funding for 2025/6 for National Highways to deliver critical road schemes and maintain motorways and major A-roads.
This money will help kickstart important projects such as the A428 Black Cat project in Cambridgeshire, improvements to the A47 near Norwich, and the M3 J9 project in Hampshire.
It also aims to fund the building of thousands of new homes, create well-paid jobs, and improve connections to ports and airports, all to boost the economy.
According to the RAC, drivers in England and Wales face an average of 6 potholes per mile, and it costs about £600 to fix damage caused by them. The AA says that fixing potholes is a top priority for 96% of drivers.
Meanwhile, a recent report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) found that despite years of repairs, the backlog of road maintenance has now reached nearly £17bn.
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