New analysis has revealed that the overwhelming majority (97%) of England’s local roads received no form of maintenance whatsoever in the 2023/24 financial year.
The figures come from the RAC, which found that just 4,080 miles of the country’s 165,000-mile minor road network were maintained. Roughly a third (36%) of highway authorities in England did no work at all to prevent the formation of potholes on B, C and unclassified roads. This is an increase from 28% of authorities six years ago.
The research also found that 7% of councils didn’t resurface any minor roads, while one in nine (11%) even failed to resurface any A roads. Just 5% of A roads were strengthened, resurfaced or preserved, equal to 817 miles – a 33% fall from six years ago.
Overall, just under 5,000 miles of all road types were strengthened, resurfaced or preserved during the 2023/24 period. This is a 35% decline from six years ago, when roughly 7,500 miles of road were maintained, although it is an 18% increase from the year prior.
Councils that did carry out this type of work did more in 2023/24 than the year before. Around 3,300 miles were treated in this period, up from 2,698 miles the previous year.
However, RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams, said this isn’t enough: “Only a slither of England’s total road network is getting any maintenance attention whatsoever. This reinforces our belief that most councils are in a cycle of merely filling potholes, rather than looking after their roads properly.
“The bigger picture is far more concerning because it still shows a significant decline in the proportion of our roads strengthened, resurfaced or preserved compared to six years ago.
“We encourage local authorities to focus on permanent solutions rather than trying to patch pothole-ridden roads that are beyond saving. This might include resurfacing or alternatives such as recycling existing materials in situ. Surface dressing roads in better condition is also important as it ensures they stay that way for longer.
“The longer important preservation work, such as surface dressing, is neglected, the more the pothole problem prevails.”
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