Hertfordshire County Council is asking the national government for extra money to fix damaged roads in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, following a winter of heavy rain.
Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst has written to the Roads Minister to request urgent support after Hertfordshire, which includes Cheshunt saw 157 per cent of its average rainfall between December and February 2026. This extreme weather has caused significant damage to road surfaces and created more potholes for local maintenance teams to manage.
Between 1 January and 18 March 2026, workers repaired more than 12,000 potholes across the county, with over 5,700 fixed in February alone. This level of work represents a 44 per cent increase compared to the same month last year as the council tries to keep the network safe for drivers and cyclists.
The council plans to spend £137 million on highways and transport infrastructure starting from 1 April 2026. However, only £37 million of this budget comes from central government funding, meaning the local authority must cover the remaining £100 million itself.
This request for help comes as a report from the Asphalt Industry Alliance shows the cost of tackling the local road maintenance backlog in England and Wales has reached a record £18.6 billion. While the government has promised £7.3 billion for road maintenance over the next four years, local leaders say more is needed now to address the damage caused by recent weather.
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.
