Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
JCB chairman denies backroom deal with Reform over Pothole Pro
08/09/2026 The chairman of JCB has dismissed accusations that Reform UK struck a deal involving a £200k donation and his company's pothole-repair machine. |
£60m boost to fix Greater Manchester's roads
03/09/2026 Greater Manchester mayor Bev Craig has announced a £60m investment to repair roads and pavements across the city-region. |
BT fined £24k after Cumberland Council street works prosecution
26/06/2026 BT has been fined after pleading guilty to four offences relating to street works safety failures, following a prosecution brought by Cumberland Council. |
Devon County Council calls for volunteers to fill in potholes
22/05/2026 Devon County Council is calling for more volunteers to join its community road warden scheme as it marks a decade since the initiative was rolled out. |
Volunteer wardens assemble to fix local roads
12/05/2026 A community scheme has been launched by Shropshire Council to enhance local road maintenance efforts. |
Bodycams rolled out to support safety of Staffordshire road workers
01/05/2026 Staffordshire County Council’s highways crews have been equipped with bodycams to help protect them from threatening behaviour. |
Kent CC bids for over £100m to fix two major road schemes
01/05/2026 Kent County Council has submitted bids to the Government's Structures Fund seeking more than £100m to address critical issues on two key roads in the county. |
Bristol potholes complaints up 700%
29/04/2026 Bristol City Council has faced criticism after pothole complaints rose 700%, with repair times exceeding targets. |
Councils risk losing funding under new pothole performance rules
14/04/2026 Local highway authorities in England face losing up to a third of their roads funding if they cannot demonstrate it is being spent on road maintenance. |
AI could save Cambridgeshire CC from future potholes
07/04/2026 Cambridgeshire County Council is to begin using artificial intelligence (AI) to combat its £800m road maintenance backlog. |
ALARM: Record £18.6bn road repair backlog despite funding boost
17/03/2026 Local roads across England and Wales face a record £18.62bn repair backlog that would take 12?years to clear, according to the latest ALARM survey. |
RAC reveals rise in rain and pothole-related road risks
10/03/2026 There has been a surge in the number of drivers impacted by pothole breakdowns during wet weather this year. |
Local election candidates urged to back preventative road maintenance
18/02/2026 The Road Emulsion Association (REA) has urged all candidates in the upcoming local elections to commit to long-term, preventative maintenance of local roads. |
Local roads to see boost from £315m highways contract
03/02/2026 Three councils have awarded a £315m highways maintenance contract to an international infrastructure group. |
Pothole Pressures: Refining road maintenance ratings
22/01/2026 Andrew Cook, ADEPT, responds to the Department for Transport’s publication of its new Red, Amber, Green (RAG) ratings on council road maintenance performance. |
National Pothole Day: Focusing minds on lasting road repairs
14/01/2026 As National Pothole Day highlights road damage, a partnership of motoring and transport groups is urging councils to rethink how potholes are fixed. |
New system launched to assess councils’ road repair performance
12/01/2026 A new traffic light rating system has been rolled out to assess how effectively local highway authorities (LHAs) are fixing potholes and maintaining roads. |
Pothole prevention work shows first major rise in years
11/11/2025 New figures suggest councils are stepping up efforts to protect roads from potholes, with a 15% increase in surface dressing work this year compared to 2024. |
Councils urged to step up as pothole breakdowns soar
21/10/2025 Councils face renewed pressure to maintain roads as new RAC figures reveal a 25% rise in pothole-related breakdowns over the summer compared to last year. |
Essex CC wows with road resurfacing results
15/10/2025 Essex County Council’s use of graphene-enhanced asphalt has produced ‘very encouraging’ results. |
Council calls for stronger fines for disruptive utility firms
24/09/2025 Hertfordshire CC has called on national Government to raise the penalties on utility companies responsible for poorly managed or unauthorised roadworks. |
Call for mandatory pothole training for councils
08/09/2025 The RAC and RSTA have called on the Government to mandate training for councils that fail to carry out preventative road maintenance. |
