A PAUSE on road repairs has seen the number of pothole repairs drop across Staffordshire, an opposition councillor has said.
The Reform UK administration halted work on “non-essential” projects earlier this year unless it could be demonstrated that they would not impact key routes.
But now the Conservative opposition group at the county council say a 15% fall in the number of pothole repairs has left motorists paying the price.
Figures show that between May and October, 17,826 potholes were repaired – down from 21,013 over the same period in 2024.
Cllr Simon Tagg, Conservative shadow cabinet member for strategic highways, said the fall in repairs comes despite good weather during the summer and autumn months which would normally increase the potholes which could be filled in.
“We warned the new Reform administration about the risks of stopping urban town centre roadworks this summer and now we can all see the results.
“They have wasted some of the best summer and autumn weather in years when they could have made major improvements to our roads
“Because of their failure, Staffordshire roads are in much worse state than they should be as the winter weather hits.”
But Cllr Peter Mason, Reform UK cabinet member for strategic highways, said he made “no apologies” for taking the time to make sure the strategy on road repairs was correct.
He said:
“We have had follow the repair plans and budget that had already been set prior to the elections in May.
“Since May, we have been working on completely changing the approach to repairs to ensure we can improve roads for the long term and, crucially, keep Staffordshire moving so our residents are not being hindered a multitude of roadworks.
“Our new approach means residents can look forward to better roads, long-lasting quality repairs rather than quick fixes and maintenance works that are carefully planned and coordinated to ensure we keep the county moving.
“We want to ensure the repairs done to our network benefit our residents for years to come and make no apologies for taking the time to get this right.”
