Rise in pothole reports expected in Wiltshire as weather worsens

According to the council, this increase is of a cyclical nature and occurs during the transition from autumn to winter.

This comes after a local councillor said the state of the roads in South West Wiltshire were “appalling” at the latest cabinet meeting.

READ MORE: Wiltshire Council leader gives update on pothole repairs

Cllr Richard Budden speaking on road safety at the latest cabinet meeting. (Image: Wiltshire Council) It is hoped that the work carried out over the summer, when the weather allowed for substantial repairs, will help to protect the road surfaces as conditions worsen.

The council has allocated an extra £10m over the next two years to spend on filling potholes and a road resurfacing programme.

This is in addition to the £20.7m the council receives from the Government's highways maintenance fund for 2024/25, plus the £5.2m from the Department for Transport's road resurfacing fund following the cancellation of HS2.

Earlier this year, Wiltshire Council also announced that a further one million pounds were to be invested into emptying gullies around the county and enable teams to focus on problem areas that are most at risk.

However, during the latest cabinet meeting, on Tuesday, September 17, a report on performance for road safety faced criticism from a Liberal Democrat councillor.

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Cllr Richard Budden described the roads in South West Wiltshire as “appalling”.

He said: “The one measure that matters to the people we represent is whether the state of the roads is improving or not.”

He added: “Walking around in the Donheads over the last weekend, I have to tell you, the roads are in a worse state now than they were a year ago.”

Cllr Budden concluded that he had not seen “any progress” in his area of the county.

Wiltshire Council’s leader, Richard Clewer, responded: “This is about the overall progress from a county perspective, not about the kind of granular issue about what is happening in one small corner of the county, it’s about the whole.”

He added that the road safety spend for South West Wiltshire’s area board was “significantly above” average.

Cllr Clewer also noted that the road surfacing programme across the county was “ahead of delivery”.

Cllr Budden argued: “What the residents of Wiltshire want to see is improved roads.

 “This isn’t a measure of improvement of the roads, this is a measure of whether or not you have achieved a particular schedule of work.”

Cllr Clewer said: “My experience driving around the county is that the roads across the county are in a better state.”