New pothole criteria introduced

Accordingly, the Council commissioned a review of the way the Council manages pothole repairs across the network to ensure that we are delivering a best-in-class service for our residents and visitors.

The review, completed earlier this year, confirmed that while the Council generally follows best practices in managing its roads, several recommendations were proposed to enhance road conditions. These recommendations were officially adopted by the Council on 19 July, and the full report can be accessed here.

A key recommendation from the review is to change the criteria on which Potholes are selected to repair. A key change will be repairing potholes that are 40mm deep rather than the current depth of 50mm and providing the width of the pothole is greater than 300mm.

By reclassifying those potholes that we repair through this new depth measurement, the Council will inspect more potholes at an earlier stage, resulting in more of our primary, secondary and local road networks achieving a good state of repair. The Council estimates that this change will enable the repair of 20% more potholes in the next year, equating to an extra 600 repairs based on 2023 figures.

Cllr Stuart Gourley, Executive Member for Environment and Highways, said:

This change demonstrates the administration's commitment to investing in and improving road conditions for all residents and highways users. Improving the way that we repair potholes has always been a priority, as outlined in the Administration's manifesto, and we are very pleased to take this important step forward.  By changing the depth at which we will repair potholes, we can ensure a smoother and safer journey for everyone in West Berkshire. I am also delighted that we have resurfaced 40Km of our roads in 2024 to date, that is up 70% on last year already. I believe that we have made real progress on the state of our roads and today's decision regarding Potholes will make another significant difference.

This change comes amid a sharp rise in public reports of highway defects, which more than doubled between 2022 and 2023 up from 1,202 to 3,034. The increase in defects and reports reflects national trends caused by several particularly wet and cold winters, conditions expected to worsen due to climate change.

The adjustment is anticipated to cost the Council an additional £400,000 in the first year, followed by an extra £200,000 annually. This will be funded through the Council's capital programme for Highway Maintenance and Improvements and which we currently spend around £9m annually.

This new change in approach comes alongside several other key projects to improve our Highways, including Aldermaston Wharf Bridge refurbishment, resurfacing of the A4 West of Hungerford and the A4 at Padworth along with the Active Travel Link between Stockcross and Newbury. We will also be opening the new Kings Road Link Road through the Sterling Gardens Development in the near future.  In 2023, we began trialling Vaisala's RoadAI system collaborating with industry leader Vaisala and which will now digitally capture images of the road conditions, traffic signs, and road markings to help predict where carriageways could become faulty.

In 2023, we resurfaced 23.6km of roads, and in 2024 to date, we have resurfaced 40km of road. We have repaired 1,805 potholes in the seven months of 2024 thus far, compared to 3,034 in all of 2023. Additionally, we have cleaned 9,575 gullies in the seven months of 2024 so far, compared to 15,498 in all of 2023. This year, we have also repaired 379 streetlights so far. These efforts demonstrate our commitment to improving and maintaining our highways infrastructure.

West Berkshire Council is continuing to make positive changes in the way we deliver our services, and this is another example of that ambitious program.

To report a pothole or any issue on the highway network, please use our online problem reporting page.