Hampshire County Council updated its website on 23 March 2026 to inform residents in Basingstoke, Hampshire, that it is changing how it prioritises road repairs. The council is now focusing on issues that pose a safety risk because of an exceptionally high number of pothole reports across the county. Residents are being warned that these high levels of reports mean some repairs may take longer than usual to complete.
To keep roads safe quickly, the council is using more temporary infill repairs which can be done in cold and wet weather. These temporary fixes are used because a permanent repair can take seven times longer and is often not possible when the ground is saturated. The council says that permanent resurfacing will follow for these areas once the weather improves.
Official figures show the council fixed 32,419 road issues in 2024/25, which is a 59 per cent decrease from the 79,573 repairs made the year before. Council Leader Cllr Nick Adams-King stated that the authority faces a 500 million pound funding gap for maintaining its roads. He noted that while it would cost 600 million pounds to bring all roads up to standard, the highways budget for 2026 is 60 million pounds.
The council attributes the increase in road damage to weeks of heavy rain and freezing temperatures in January. Residents are being asked not to report the same pothole more than once, as duplicate reports create extra work for staff. People who have already submitted a report can track its progress on the council status checker using their reference number.
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