West Northamptonshire Council given worst ‘red’ rating for how it manages potholes as part of new Government initiative
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has been given a ‘red’ rating - the worst of three gradings - for how it manages potholes.
The rating is part of a new Government traffic light system initiative aimed at letting the public know which local authorities are fixing potholes effectively.
WNC is one of just 13 authorities across the country rated as ‘red’. The rating is broken down into three key areas: conditions of roads, spending on road repairs and following best practice in maintaining highways. WNC was rated ‘red’, in the condition and wider best practice categories, which means it is not meeting the expected standard, according to the Department for Transport (DfT). In the spend category, the authority was rated ‘amber’.
WNC says it was not aware of the ranking before publication and says it believes the data came from early 2025. The now Reform-led council says it has made “significant progress” since then.
However, opposition politicians have called the ranking “shocking” and have questioned the proposed maximum council tax increase.
Labour group leader on WNC, Sally Keeble, said: “To be one of only 13 councils in England to receive the red rating is shocking, especially after the huge investment by this Labour Government.
“Residents will rightly be questioning why Reform are raising our council tax by the full amount when they can’t even use the funding they already get to fix our roads.”
Mike Reader, Member of Parliament for Northampton South, added: “This red rating confirms what residents across West Northamptonshire experience every day. Council failure and roads not being properly looked after.
“There is now more funding available to fix potholes and maintain roads for the long term, but that money has to be used effectively.
“Local people deserve safer roads and better value for their council tax. Especially when we're seeing the very same council proposing the maximum tax increase.”
DfT says councils currently rated ‘red’ will receive support to bring them in line with best practices. The support programme will include peer reviews where sector experts will help improve processes and provide practical advice.
The Government also announced in November last year that it would invest £7.344 billion in local road maintenance between the financial years 2026/27 and 2029/30. Local authorities will get a share of this investment.
What WNC has said
In response, WNC says over the past two years it has “moved away from short-term fixes where possible” and invested in “more durable, sustainable and preventative approaches”. The council says it has introduced new technologies and processes, including five Roadmender patching machines, a JCB Pothole Pro, which allows repairs to be completed faster, a minipaver/micropave, which improves the durability of small-scale resurfacing, thermal and low-carbon repair techniques and £10 million to extend its Highway Investment Programme.
A WNC spokesman said: “We’re keen to work alongside the DfT to understand the assessment criteria, outline our activity in recent months, and agree a route forward which will help us improve the two areas in which we’ve been categorised as red.
“While we do not believe the overall ‘red’ rating fully reflects the scale, pace and impact of the improvements being delivered locally, we acknowledge the Government’s recognition that many councils are working to address the consequences of historic under-investment in local roads, often across very large and complex networks.
“The data used to inform the ranking is reported regularly to the DFT but due to the way in which the data is collected, it does not reflect the network as it stands today.”
Councillor Richard Butler, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, added: “We welcome the Government’s continued recognition that longterm, predictable funding is essential to tackling the legacy of road deterioration, and we will of course engage positively with any additional support or expertise offered through the DfT improvement programmes.
“As a council covering one of the largest unitary highway networks in the country, with a mix of urban, rural and strategic routes, we remain committed to continuous improvement and to adopting best practice wherever it delivers better outcomes for residents.”
The council says that in the last 12 months it has completed 55km squared of repairs. It shares its live data to the WISE website here.