I’ve written previously about the level of extra investment we’ve made to help make Hampshire’s roads stronger – an extra £22.5 million over the last two years, in fact.

I’ve also highlighted how this has let us put more resources into day-to-day repairs and strengthening Hampshire’s roads, including fixing potholes – almost 181,000 repairs in the 12 months to April 2024.

While good progress is being made, there’s no avoiding the prospect of wetter weather in the coming months, combined with likely freezing winter temperatures, which often create more road defects and potholes.


The impacts of climate change, more traffic, and heavier vehicles are also deteriorating Hampshire’s road surfaces, so you will appreciate the scale of the challenge we have in keeping up with repairs – particularly when repair and maintenance costs have almost doubled in the past couple of years, putting even greater pressure on our budgets.

Recent news of a share of £500 million for road repairs and maintenance, announced by the Government in the budget, is of course very welcome.


However, we’ve calculated that the entire sum available to all authorities is what we would need to bring just Hampshire’s roads up to a decent standard for the long term!


We wait to hear more details from the Department for Transport, but once this extra funding is divided between England’s local highway authorities, Hampshire’s share is likely to be well below what’s actually needed to meet the significant challenges we face.

While the pressures remain, so does our resolve to use the resources we do have in the best way possible.
Good roads are vital for the daily journeys we all rely on – and for a healthy economy – so please be assured that the County Council remains absolutely committed to doing all we can to make the very best use of the limited funding we have for maintaining Hampshire’s 5,500 miles of road and to keep Hampshire moving this winter and beyond.


Cllr Lulu Bowerman
Executive Member for Highways and Waste