Decision

This Council notes with concern that:
 
1.    
Warwickshire’s road conditions have been rated as Amber, or
in the middle tier across all four bands in the local road
maintenance ratings published by the UK Government on 11 January
2026.
2.    
Although Warwickshire County Council performed relatively well
against its peer authorities in The National Highways and Transport
2025 Survey Results, coming 2nd out of 31 peer authorities in
dealing with potholes and road damage, it received a public
satisfaction rating of 30% against a group average of 23%.
3.    
Many Councillors are receiving increasingly high levels of public
contact about potholes.
 
This Council recognises:
 
1.    
That under the previous administration, Warwickshire County Council
doubled the rate of pothole repairs through innovative initiatives
such as dedicated ‘Find and Fix’ teams.
2.    
That road conditions are now significantly deteriorating nationally
and locally through a combination of poor weather, increasing
volume of traffic, heavier vehicles, and increased freight, but the
current administration are yet to meet the scale of the challenge
or fulfil their promises set out in their ‘Recalibrating
Warwickshire’ strategy set out in August 2025 to tackle
potholes.
3.    
That in the midst of a national pothole pandemic, Warwickshire
County Council should lead the way and aim for a much higher public
satisfaction level than 30%.
4.    
That potholes risk life and limb through increased accident risk,
and cause unnecessary stress, disruption, and cost to Warwickshire
residents in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
 
This Council therefore resolves to:
 
1.    
Review the process of pothole repairs and report to Full Council on
a plan to materially improve road conditions and avoid a repeat in
winter 2026/27 of the current pothole pandemic in Warwickshire.
2.    
Conduct an urgent audit of all junctions between local authority
roads and motorways, including roundabouts, to identify any
necessary repairs required to be made to road surfaces by
Warwickshire County Council or National Highways as
appropriate.
3.    
Call on the Leader to write to the Chief Executive of National
Highways to give notice of, and subsequent updates on, the audit
and any work which may be required of National Highways under their
responsibilities for road surface repairs.