Councils named and shamed over slapdash pothole repairs to stop road closures

Councils named and shamed over slapdash pothole repairs to stop road closures Road users have been left frustrated after waiting for roads under repair to be reopened only for them to be reclosed for repeated patch-up fixes of potholes Drivers will see their councils named and shamed if they carry out short-term repairs of potholes that mean streets are having to be repeatedly closed for maintenance. Road users have been left frustrated after waiting for roads under repair to be reopened only for them to be reclosed for repeated patch-up fixes. New government rules will require councils to reveal exactly how well they repair their roads. Councils will face having a third of their highways maintenance funding removed if they fail to be transparent. If councils are failing to properly implement long-term pothole fixes, their rating could be downgraded in this year’s road condition council ratings. Officials hope the new system will encourage councils to carry out full road resurfacing, preventing potholes and an end to short-term patch fixes. Drivers will be able to see how well their council is tackling the so-called “pothole plague” in transparency reports to be published in September across England. The new guidance will be used to update the red/amber/green (RAG) ratings first published by the government earlier this year. Green ratings were given to local authorities investing in long-term pothole prevention and full road resurfacing rather than just patching up potholes. All red rated councils are receiving additional support from the government, including some £300,000-worth of expert help to support councils in improving standards. Roads and Buses Minister Simon Lightwood said: “For too long motorists have been left incensed by short-term work being prioritised over genuine long-term repairs. Thanks to our new guidance, that changes today. “For the first time not only will councils need to show just how many potholes they are filling in, but what they are doing to avoid going back to fix the same pothole time and again - something which understandably infuriates drivers.” The Government has given local authorities a record £7.3bn in long-term road funding to fix potholes. In March, data obtained by Confused.com through Freedom of Information requests showed 144,230 compensation claims were made to UK councils for pothole damage between 2022 and 2025. During this period, local authorities paid out a total of more than £11million, including £1.1million in 2025. Over 3.4million potholes were reported across the UK in the last four years, with more than 600,000 (18%) of these in 2025 alone. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "Aside from potholes themselves, there's nothing that annoys drivers more than ones that have been poorly repaired and become potholes again in a matter of weeks or months. “Bad repairs are a waste of time and money, so it's positive the Government is prioritising long-term fixes over short-term patching and dashing. Potholes need to be fixed promptly and permanently as they are a serious road safety danger to those on two wheels, along with causing expensive damage to vehicles. “The poor state of Britain's roads is drivers' biggest gripe, so it's good to see a new approach being taken. Fixing potholes once and carrying out preventative maintenance that stops them forming in the first place is a big step towards improving our roads for the future."