A council said improving the condition of local roads is a priority after receiving an amber rating by the Government, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.
Durham County Council has introduced new initiatives designed to make the road network safer and improve its overall score.
The condition of roads and whether the authority followed best practice were rated amber by the government. The council’s spending on road repairs was rated green.
A new mapping tool by the Department for Transport rates 154 local highway authorities as red, amber, or green based on road conditions and their effectiveness in spending the Government’s road maintenance funding.
Reform politicians in charge of Durham County Council made fixing the region’s potholes a key priority while campaigning ahead of the local elections in May 2025. Last April, the party said there were 65,000 potholes in the county, equating to 27 potholes per mile.
Figures show the local authority has carried out 129,838 pothole repairs between January 2022 and September 2025. The council said it received the same number of reported potholes across the same time period.
Councillor Tim McGuinness, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for rural, farming and transport, said: “We welcome the Department for Transport’s recent release of national road condition data. The data covers a period before the local elections took place in May 2025, and its publication is an opportunity for us to continue to target support where it’s most needed and build upon the work we are already undertaking to maintain a safe, resilient, and high-quality highway network.
“Improving and maintaining our highways is a top priority for this council and we are leading the way in adopting innovative technologies to enhance our work in this area. The introduction of enhanced computer-based systems and artificial intelligence in highway inspections and condition monitoring is helping us identify the right treatment at the right time. This ensures resources are used efficiently and effectively.
“We have also launched a preventative pothole programme, repairing carriageways before potholes form.”
County Durham will receive a share of £22 million from the North East Combined Authority to fund road repairs between 2026 and 2027.
Cllr McGuinness added: “These initiatives are already making a positive difference and, by working with partners, sharing best practice, adopting new technologies and continuing to put additional investment into highway maintenance, we can ensure County Durham’s roads remain safe, sustainable, and fit for the future.”
In neighbouring authority Darlington, the borough’s roads received an overall green rating after demonstrating they followed “best practice”. The Department for Transport said highly-rated authorities had invested in long-term preventative measures rather than just patching up potholes, while also maintaining good road conditions.
Total local road maintenance funding for England provided by the Government in the 2025/26 financial year was nearly £1.6 billion, representing a £500 million uplift compared with the previous 12 months.
Common vehicle problems caused by potholes include damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.
The RAC estimates a typical repair bill for a family car suffering pothole damage beyond a puncture is £590.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3 billion to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for.
“Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely, and for the first time we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area.
“This Government’s record investment will save drivers money on repairs, make roads safer and help restore pride in our communities.”
Bill Edgar
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
👎Bishop Auckland Town Centre and Tenters Street absolute disgrace and Shildon and Dene Valley Ward no better.
Has the Toft Hill bypass been scrapped in favour oc Bishop Gateway.
Michael David Ramage Im Hearing that Toft hill has been given the elbow.
I hope that the bypass gets the greenlight as those people have needed a bypass fir years.
Brooke Normanyou might be correct, so yet another let down for West Auckland and Toft Hill. Promises since the days of Derek Foster MP and another meaningless consultation by DCC. However, residents allege project Bishop Gateway (private road from A688 to a car park adjacent River Wear current spiralling upwards to £28million remains under final discussion. It seems no brass to resolve the ongoing road traffic flows around Tindale.
Michael David Ramage Well if a Durham County Councillor doesn’t know then who does, this leaked news has County Councillors in a flap. The Bypass that was first requested 70 year ago and was finally funded thanks to Dehenna Davison aquiring I believe £20M levelling up money that was “ringfenced” The bypass project included two very minor concerns, the Whorlton Bridge repair and the DCC section of the Darlo and Stockton biCentennial footpath. Has crazy project management led to there being very little left within the “ringfence” for the approx £12M required for the bypass ? Have the Labour sympathising civil servants within DCC outmanoevred Reform Councillors and added insult to injury by leaking the cancellation announcement before the Reform Cabinet Meeting to finalise a decision ?
Alan John Breeze we shall see. I know of 1 Reform Cllr who allegedly is unpopular because he asks to many questions 😉
Look at Tindale it’s a death trap
We all complain but unfortunately nothing gets done
Bloomin Council
Don’t know what the answered is
Town ruined roads a disaster
We’re not the only ones in one hell of a mess
A couple of years ago I logged over 20 separate cases of pot holes to our then councillor and DCC. I continued to bombard the highways dept with emails until the road was finally resurfaced. It was a lot of work but succeeded in the end! I understand there are financial pressures on council budgets however DCC need to share their services across the whole of County Durham not just on small pockets of it!
Improving the local roads? There has been 5 million spent on a bus stop to a town that no one goes to anymore that has no shops for them. (BISHOP) wouldn’t it have been more sense to spend that 5m on the roads?
Council bleeding the town dry
WHY
Is there an agenda we don’t know about