Roads: Rural Areas

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This multi-year settlement enables local authorities to plan ahead and shift away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance. This record funding includes significant allocations to local authorities across England, including in rural areas, with allocations for each authority available online, at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations/highways-maintenance-block-formula-allocations-2026-to-2030.

To support further improvement in the condition of local roads, the Department introduced a new traffic-light rating system for all local highway authorities in England. All authorities are assessed annually and receive a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their road, and whether they do so using best practice.

Local authorities can improve their ratings by adopting more best practice in highways maintenance, such as a greater focus on preventative maintenance to avoid potholes from forming in the first place, and by adopting innovative approaches such as those trialled through the Government's £30 million Live Labs 2 programme.