Nottinghamshire County Council is accelerating works on road repairs before the next financial year and pushing for longer-term fixes after harsh winters.
Today (Wednesday, 15 January) marks National Pothole Day, and Via East Midlands – the organisation that repairs roads for Nottinghamshire County Council – was in Cross Lane, Blidworth, to resurface a damaged road.
Repair workers were using Micro Asphalt, which is a type of resurfacing that creates a new protective, waterproof layer and is designed to produce long-lasting results on roads with limited disruption.
The shift to this approach follows previous criticism from residents and opposition councillors about temporary repairs using ‘Viafix’ – which fills holes rather than replacing road surfaces.
The council pledged to move away from this approach and adopt a “right repair, right first time approach” around 2023.
In this financial year, which ends in March, the council says it has invested around £66 million in its highway repairs.
In the first half of 2024/25, there have been more than 25,000 pothole repairs, 48,761 highway inspections, 48,475 gullies cleaned, and 3,983 streetlights repaired.
Speaking at the side of Cross Lane today, Lee Wright, Construction and Maintenance Operative at Via East Midlands, said: “Repairs should last five to 10 years at least, so it’s a permanent repair rather than just a quick repair.”
Councillor Sam Smith (Con), leader of the council, also attended the repair work and said longer-term patching is being done “more than ever before”.
He said: “Rather than tar out of a bag in emergency repairs that only last a few rainfalls, we want to move away from that.
“Micro Asphalt makes the road smoother, lasts longer than the temporary repairs, and also residents like to see it as well – it’s their priority, it’s our priority.”
Cllr Smith added that the council is “cramming” in its road repairs until the end of the financial year in March.
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He said: “We’re getting our teams out to as many places as possible. It slowed down a bit because of the frost in recent weeks.
“I would want to see the same, if not more, funding for the roads in the next financial year.”
One way potholes form is when water gets underneath the tarmac, expands when it freezes, and forces the tarmac out, which creates a hole.
Winter is often the worst time of the year for potholes appearing, and the council leader urged people to report them using the MyNotts app.
However, he said there may be temporary repairs before permanent work takes place.
He added: “Residents are encouraged to log potholes on the MyNotts app or on the website. Once we’re aware of it, we’ll come out.
“If we have to do a temporary repair just to keep it safe so tyres on cars don’t pop, then we will do, but then we’ll come back and do the more long-term patching repair.”
• To report a pothole, visit the county council website https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/roads/potholes/report-a-pothole or download the MyNotts App.
