The money is on top of £8m in external funding allocated to the city by EMCCA for road maintenance for 2026/27, a 40% increase on last year.
A huge increase in the funding available to improve the state of the city’s roads, footpaths and public areas should have a visible impact in the next few months.
Now that Nottingham City Council is in an improved financial position, the City Council is announcing that over £6 million will be invested in fixing and improving streets.
The council says it will spend this money over two years, beginning immediately, with works being delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible. Nottingham City Council will be recruiting new team members to help complete this work.
To improve the streets and roads and help mitigate flooding, it says it will invest:
– £4 million to address potholes with road patching works
– £1.5 million for ‘grey to green routes’ – a project to replace areas of paving with sustainable planting, helping to reduce surface-water flood risk, improve climate resilience and create greener and more attractive streets
– £400k to enhance trees – including lifting crowns, removing stumps and replanting where needed
– £340k to deal with blocked drains – making sure any blocked drains or gullies are dealt with ahead of winter storms
– £325k to clean and replace street signs
– £210k for navigational signage in the city centre
The bulk of the £4 million funding will be targeted at highway repairs to address potholes, drainage defects and other issues with permanent repairs, reducing the impact of potholes on people around the city and improving the functioning and appearance of our streets for everyone. This is the first time that Nottingham City Council has been able to invest money of its own.
The £4 million is on top of the £8 million that the East Midlands Combined County Authority has allocated to us for road maintenance in 2026/27 – capital funding which must go towards ‘whole street’ maintenance rather than targeting smaller problem areas.
The goal of this £4 million funding is to address potholes, drainage defects and other issues with permanent repairs, reducing the impact of potholes on people around the city and improving the functioning and appearance of our streets for everyone.
Unlike the £8m road maintenance funding, this funding is revenue, giving the City Council more flexibility over what it can be spent on. That means they can carry out targeted highway repairs that can make a huge difference across the city.
These pots of funding combined for road repairs mean that Nottingham City Council will allocate more than £14 million to fixing roads before March 2027 – an all-time record level of investment.
Nottingham City Council will also put into action the results of an ongoing trial using a new recycled material to fill road defects. The Highways team has been trialling the use of Elastomac instead of asphalt.
Elastomac is:
– Cheaper – from £50/m² versus up to £100/m² for asphalt-type materials
– More durable and longer-lasting than temporary repairs
– Faster – it can be ready for traffic within minutes, reducing disruption for road users. Traditional methods often require longer curing and compaction times.
Nottingham City Council asks residents to report issues, including potholes, blocked drains or other road or pavement issues.
Councillor Patience Ifediora, Executive Member for Regional Development, Growth and Transport at Nottingham City Council, said: “We’re delivering for Nottingham and investing in what really matters to our residents after a challenging few years.
“We hear drivers, cyclists and pedestrians when they say that our roads and streets need to improve, and we’re working hard and allocating more money – including investing £4 million ourselves for the first time – to make that happen.
“You can play your part by reporting any road issues and potholes to us, as well as any blocked gullies, to help us build up a picture of what needs addressing where – together, we can get it sorted.”
