All Yorkshire councils rated for tackling potholes
Leeds City Council and Rotherham Borough Council have been rated “green” for tackling potholes, in a new traffic light system launched by the government to keep drivers informed.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said a new mapping tool shows 154 local highway authorities rated as red, amber or green based on road conditions and how effectively they are spending the Government’s road maintenance funding.
Apart from Leeds and Rotherham, the rest of Yorkshire is rated as amber. Across the rest of England, among those classified as red are Cumberland, Derbyshire and North Lincolnshire.
The DfT said red authorities will receive “dedicated support to bring them into line with best practices” through a £300,000 programme.
The Government said green authorities demonstrated they are following “best practice” such as investing in long-term preventative measures rather than just patching up potholes.
Total local road maintenance funding for England provided by the Government in the 2025/26 financial year was nearly £1.6bn, representing a £500m uplift compared with the previous 12 months.
A quarter of the extra money was withheld until the end of last year after authorities had set out their plans to spend it.
In November’s budget, the Government committed to providing a total of £7.3bn for local road maintenance funding for the four years up to and including 2029/30.
Common vehicle problems caused by potholes include damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels. The RAC estimates a typical repair bill for a family car suffering pothole damage beyond a puncture is £590.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “For too long drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate.
“I have heard time and again their frustration on footing the bill because they hit a pothole – money they should never have to spend in the first place.
“We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3bn to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for.
“Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely, and for the first time we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area."
Tom Hunt, chairman of the Local Government Association’s inclusive growth committee and leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Councils face a £17bn backlog of road repairs.
“Only longer-term funding certainty will help councils more effectively plan for future maintenance schemes, focusing more on preventative measures – which will ultimately save the taxpayer money and reduce the need for repairs – and able to invest in innovation.”
Deputy leader of Leeds City Council, Coun Jonathan Pryor, said: “We welcome this new interactive map produced by the DfT and that our work in Leeds is recognised nationally with a green highest-level rating reflecting the way we manage highways maintenance operations.
“All of our highways maintenance work in Leeds follows national guidance and best practice and we invest an additional £13m of capital funding into highways maintenance each year to support our work because the council knows it is a high priority for local residents and communities.
“It is important however to recognise the scale of the ongoing challenge, with a backlog of work needed on our highways network currently at around £300m, so while we are grateful for this recognition and any additional investment to help us maintain highways in Leeds, we know much more is needed.”