Huge potholes appear on Hampshire's roads as the stress on the county’s road network shows
Huge potholes have again began appearing on Hampshire's roads as the stress on the county’s road network continues to be on show.
A number of significant potholes have appeared across the county, including a large number in London Road in Widley, Waterlooville - a busy route in and out of the town from Portsmouth.
Potholes are created as a result of a mix of water, traffic, and temperature changes; with freezing water getting into tiny cracks and widening them, compounded by traffic then driving over them and weakening the road surface.
It comes as the number of potholes and road defects repaired by Hampshire County Council has dropped dramatically, according to official figures.
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.”
The figures do not include Portsmouth and Southampton, with the two city councils responsible for the roads in those areas.
Report a pothole
Hampshire (excluding Portsmouth and Southampton) - www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/potholes
Portsmouth - www.portsmouth.gov.uk/all-tasks/report/
Southampton - www.southampton.gov.uk/travel-transport/report-issue/