Number of potholes and road defects repaired in Hampshire drops dramatically

Data published in the Local Highways Maintenance Transparency report shows that the council repaired 32,419 highway defects in 2024/25, a fall of around 59 per cent compared with the 79,573 repairs carried out in 2023/24. The figure is even lower when set against 2022/23, when more than 91,000 defects were repaired across the county.

So far in the current financial year (2025/26), 22,172 defects have been fixed through reactive and emergency repairs, work that focuses on issues deemed to pose an immediate safety risk to road users. These include deep potholes, cracks, localised subsidence or depressions, loss of surface material and deterioration of road edges.

The sharp reduction in the number of repairs comes despite Hampshire managing one of the largest local road networks in the country, with more than 5,500 miles of roads and 4,200 miles of footways.

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said the authority was taking a more strategic approach to road maintenance.

The spokesperson said: “This year, we’re planning to invest £55.9 million in maintaining highways.

“So far, we’ve repaired 22,172 defects through reactive and emergency work. In addition, we have an extensive programme of planned maintenance in progress, which ensures funding is targeted efficiently and helps reduce the need for more expensive reactive repairs over the longer term.”

In May 2024, then-Transport Secretary Mark Harper highlighted a £132 million long-term resurfacing programme for Hampshire, part of a wider £8.3 billion government plan to resurface thousands of miles of local roads across England.

The government has said the funding is intended to help councils move away from short-term patching and towards longer-lasting resurfacing schemes.

The figures do not include Portsmouth and Southampton, with the two city councils responsible for the roads in those areas.