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# Residents were tired of excuses on potholes, Reform UK county council chiefs say as figures reveal increase in repairs
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/residents-were-tired-of-excuses-on-potholes-reform-uk-county-council-chiefs-say-as-figures-reveal-increase-in-repairs/
- Published: 2026-08-18T07:06:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-18T07:06:43.000Z
- Description: Highways bosses say 4,750 repairs were carried out in July.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, Transport, News

REFORM UK chiefs have welcomed a new approach to tackling road repairs, insisting residents were "tired of excuses".

The controlling group at Staffordshire County Council said 4,750 potholes were filled in during July, up from 3,583 at the same time last year.

The work is part of efforts to carry out 40,000 repairs by the end of March 2027 with the introduction of extra crews and faster methods.

Cllr Martin Murray, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said that the changes meant that the focus could be on tackling urgent safety defects as well as "lower-level potholes" that have "blighted communities" and built into a backlog in recent years.

He said:

> "Residents are tired of excuses. They want to see roads fixed.  
>  
> "For too long, lower-level defects were allowed to sit in the backlog while residents were left with roads that looked and felt neglected.  
>  
> "Reform is now targeting that backlog directly, with dedicated funding, extra crews and faster repair methods.  
>  
> "There is still a huge amount to do, but July's figures show the work is moving."

Cllr Peter Mason, Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways, said:

> "July's repair figures show our highways teams are delivering at pace.  
>  
> "The key difference now is that we are not only reacting to the most urgent defects – we are also going after lower-level potholes and road defects before they become bigger problems.  
>  
> "Our Roadmap to a Better Network means better planning, a whole-road approach where possible and better coordination to reduce disruption for residents.  
>  
> "There is a lot of work ahead, but the direction is clear – fix the roads, protect the network and reduce the backlog."