Hampshire County Council are committing an extra £22.5 million to tackle potholes across the county.
An extra £7.5 million each year for the next three years will be spent on repairing more potholes across Hampshire under new plans outlined by the County Council Leader, Cllr Rob Humby.
Under the Conservatives, the Council has a firm commitment to deliver stronger roads for Hampshire. The County Council currently spends around £13.5 million on reactive pothole and road defect repairs each year. Under the new proposal, funding would increase by £7.5 million starting in this financial year and across 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. Excluding one-off grants from the Department for Transport and other temporary budget adjustments, this will mean a core annual budget specifically for reactive highway repairs of around £21m through to spring 2026.
Commenting, Cllr Rob Humby said:
“Anyone using roads in Hampshire and elsewhere will be fully aware of the impact of sustained severe weather on our highway network. We are currently fixing record numbers of potholes and road defects – currently around 1,000 repairs every week – but it’s still not enough to keep up with the number of defects on Hampshire’s 5,500 miles of roads.
“In the short term, we have been considering what we can do locally to ensure we have stronger roads for today, and I am pleased to announce that I will be bringing forward a proposal in July to add a further £7.5 million every year, over the next three years, to the County Council’s highways budget which will change the focus of our road maintenance activity on a day-to-day basis. This sum will enable us to significantly boost the number of potholes and other road problems that we can fix in the coming months and years. Our Hampshire Highways service, alongside our contractor, Milestone, will now develop the details of how this additional funding will be put to good use."
Cllr Nick Adams-King, Cabinet Member for roads and transport, added:
“As part of these new proposals, we have asked the County Council’s contractors to relook at how we programme repairs so that when a single repair is made, smaller ones nearby are also filled at the same time. Currently, repair gangs are being asked to focus on the defects that pose the biggest risk, but under our new approach we want to empower and equip teams to fill more potholes in a single visit and help deliver stronger roads today.”
The County Council currently spends around £13.5 million on reactive pothole and road defect repairs each year. Under the new proposal, funding would increase by £7.5 million starting in this financial year and across 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. Excluding one-off grants from the Department for Transport and other temporary budget adjustments, this will mean a core annual budget specifically for reactive highway repairs of around £21m through to spring 2026.
Commenting, Leo Docherty MP said:
"This is additional investment into our local road network is welcome. Tackling potholes and maintaining our roads to a good standard is an issue residents in the constituency raise with me on a regular basis, and this additional funding will help address road defects more quickly utilising new, innovative repair treatments and processes."
Road problems should be reported online using Hampshire County Council's reporting tool here. This helps the Highways teams to schedule repairs and resolve the problem.