Potholes
2025/2026 pothole fixing programme
In 2025/2026, we are investing £8.4 million to repair between 30,000 to 40,000 potholes.
Potholes fixed last year (April 2024 to March 2025)
Last year we fixed over 33,000 potholes. This includes ones reported to us, those in our backlog, and ones we’ve found through nearby repairs.
Our system recorded over 15,600 potholes: 13,000 through our inspections, and 2,555 potholes reported to us.
Why potholes develop
Potholes develop due to:
- Water infiltration - water freezes in the cracks in the road, breaking the road material
- Weather conditions - frequent freeze-thaw cycles and heavy rainfall speed up wear
- Traffic stress – road use widens any cracks in the road, leading to potholes
How we fix potholes
Our teams use different repairs to fix potholes. We work with our contractors Nuphalt and Galvmac to fix them.
We may make temporary repairs for bigger potholes to make roads safe. This is until we can schedule permanent repairs alongside ongoing works.
Cut and fill
Cut and fill repairs the road by cutting out the area around the pothole, and filling it with new tarmac.
For roads with lots of potholes, we can complete a larger patch, or resurface the entire section. These bigger repairs come under our capital programme.
We are trialling new materials that don’t need to cut out part of the road, but still provide a long lasting repair.
Our internal highways crews deliver the cut and fill method.
Jet patching
Jet patching sprays new material at force into damaged areas. It seals the surface, and reduces the chances of further potholes. Jet patching can fix over 50 potholes a day without cutting out parts of the road.
Nuphalt runs up to three jet patching teams on our network.
Watch a video on the jet patching process on our YouTube channel.
Thermal patching
Thermal patching melts the damaged part of the road at 200°C to fuse the existing surface with the new repair. This reuses existing material and restores the seamless road surface.
Thermal patching repairs are usually done in urban areas.
Nuphalt runs up to three thermal patching teams across our highways network.
Elastomac patching
Elastomac patching uses end-of-life waste tyres to repair the road. This replaces the traditional asphalt glue made from fossil fuels. These repairs recycle nine tyres destined for incineration into every ton of elastomac. It lowers the carbon footprint of patching by 85%.
Elastomac patching can repair any road.
Galvmac manages up to three elastomac teams (or ‘RoadMender’) on our network.
Emergency repairs
Emergency repairs to potholes can include temporary fixes to keep the road safe. We then schedule permanent repairs as soon as possible.
Road closures
Pothole repairs often involve closing at least some of the road. This helps us to keep everyone safe.
If repairs might disrupt your community, we will contact you beforehand where we can. In emergencies, it may not be possible to tell you in advance.
Repairs can be noisy. You may hear warning reversing sirens, along with flashing beacons. This is a health and safety requirement and cannot be turned off.
Report a pothole
Highways team
Report a problem online
Telephone: 0300 373 3306
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm