Bolton Council in Greater Manchester has updated its road maintenance guidance on its website to state it will only consider potholes that are at least 40mm deep for repair. The policy was published on the council website in February 2026 and is intended to help the local authority manage a large list of repairs by focusing on the most severe road damage first.
The council asks residents not to report potholes smaller than the 40mm threshold. For pavements and designated road crossing points, the minimum depth for a repair to be considered is 25mm.
The change follows the Department for Transport’s January 2026 local road maintenance ratings map, which placed Bolton in the ‘red’ category for road maintenance performance. The council has said it faces a repair backlog of about £92 million, far exceeding annual funding available for highways work.
According to council documents and local reporting, the highways programme budget for 2025/26 is roughly £6 million. Council officials say the depth thresholds form part of a risk-based approach to prioritise limited funds on the busiest and most damaged routes.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
