South West potholes: the 1,100 miles of road being fixed this year

If you’ve ever heard that sickening thud of a wheel dropping into a pothole, you’ll know the bill that can follow. Tyres, wheels and suspension usually take the hit, and the average repair now runs to nearly £600.

So there’s some interest in new figures, published by the government, which say councils in the South West will resurface more than 1,100 miles of road this year. That’s close to the distance from Plymouth to Reykjavík in Iceland.

What the figures show

The numbers come from transparency reports submitted by local councils, and according to the government they point to more than 10% more resurfacing than took place last year.

Of the 1,100 miles, 850 are preventative maintenance and 250 are structural maintenance.

The government says councils in the South West are spending £600 million on their roads this year. It puts that at £125 million more than before it came to power, and says its £7.3 billion of national funding for road maintenance is starting to deliver better roads for communities that have suffered from potholes.

A shift towards stopping potholes before they start

A big part of the story is preventative work. Rather than patching the same stretch of road over and over, the idea is to treat the surface before potholes have the chance to form.

The government says 94% of councils plan to carry out preventative treatments this year, up from 76% last year. It credits that change to clearer direction, record funding and stricter monitoring.

Separate road condition statistics also show local roads across England improved in the year ending March 2026, with a smaller share of minor roads needing maintenance.

£220 million more, but with strings attached

Alongside the new data, the government has released £220 million in incentive-based funding to councils across England for meeting performance targets.

More money is due later in the year. But it will only be paid if councils hit their targets, and it can be held back if they don’t, which the government describes as part of its efforts to hold councils to account.

What the Transport Secretary said

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “For too long potholes have been a point of national embarrassment forcing hard-working people from Cheltenham to Truro to fork out for repairs and posing a danger to all road users. But today’s figures show that we are starting to turn a corner.

“While we know there is much more to do, our record funding, combined with tough new rules holding councils to account, mean that drivers are making safer, smoother journeys while giving people roads they can rely on.”

How the motoring world has reacted

Dan Joyce, Operations Director at Kwik Fit, said its teams see pothole damage all too often.

“Kwik Fit teams across the country have been repairing damage from potholes all too often, with tyres, wheels and suspension components most frequently suffering from the impact. Potholes not only cause costly damage, they can also present a significant risk to road safety.

“We welcome this increased investment, especially the additional focus on proactive maintenance as this helps prevent potholes before they become a danger to road users, or a drain on drivers’ wallets.”

The nearly £600 average repair figure comes from industry data, including the RAC Pothole Index.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams called the data encouraging. “It’s good to see so many miles of road being resurfaced, but it’s also positive that the preventative maintenance message has got through as we’ve long argued that councils need to take steps to stop potholes appearing in the first place, and not just patch them up. Surface dressing, if done properly, is a very cost effective way of improving more roads for the long term.

“The proof, of course, will be in whether drivers and other road users notice the difference. Getting the country’s roads up to a decent standard, and keeping them there, isn’t an overnight job. But at least we’re now on the right track.”