The state and condition of our roads is probably the biggest issue that people raise with me. I’ll be candid: they’re not good enough. And I think that not only as your Member of Parliament but also as a local resident: I live in Arnold and use our roads to get around the constituency I represent. I know full well that rattling around on the top deck of the 25 bus as it goes down Westdale Lane isn’t pleasant.
On this page, I try to answer the most frequently-asked questions that I get asked about our roads and the work that I’ve done on this subject. If you have a question that isn’t listed here, please contact me on tom.randall.mp@parliament.uk.
Who is responsible for looking after our roads?
Nottinghamshire County Council is responsible for the vast majority of our roads, with Highways England responsible for our motorways and major A roads. Members of Parliament have no direct control over road maintenance.
Nottinghamshire County Council also cleans the drains on the roadside. Gedling Borough Council is responsible for sweeping our roads.
Why are there so many potholes on our roads?
It’s a long-term problem. There has been a decades-long backlog of repair work which has meant that our roads aren’t as good as they could be. Add in recent flooding and bad weather and the situation has got even worse as the County Council struggles to keep up.
There’s a pothole in my street. How do I report it?
If you spot a pothole, we need to make sure that the County Council is aware of it.
You can log it with the County Council for repair using this link: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/roads/potholes/report-a-pothole
I’ve reported a pothole, what happens next?
Nottinghamshire County Council gives the following information about response times:
What sort of repairs do the County Council do?
How much does Nottinghamshire County Council spend on our roads?
Nottinghamshire County Council’s annual road maintenance budget is around £20,000,000. In 2021, Nottinghamshire County Councillors reviewed how potholes were being repaired and all Conservative Councillors voted to improve the repair methods with an extra £15,000,000 of investment.
How exactly are repair methods being improved?
Nottinghamshire County Council’s made a number of recommendations and details of the Council's improvement plan can be found below and on this link: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/roads/highways-review-panel/highwa…
Where possible, the Council now use a better and longer lasting patching and resurface repair method, instead of the temporary repairs, but temporary pothole repairs are still carried out on potholes that risk causing damage to vehicles. Below is an example of the Council's new patching repair method that has been carried out on Florence Road in Gedling.
How can I find out what is happening about road repairs locally?
Each year, Nottinghamshire County Council publish a list of roads and pavements that are due to be resurfaced or surface dressed with micro-asphalt as part of the Council's annual road maintenance budget of more than £20,000,000 (which does not include the ongoing pothole repairs and patching projects).
You can see what projects are planned over the next 12 months by visiting www.viaem.co.uk/via-in-nottinghamshire/roadworks-in-nottinghamshire/
You can also see a list of the roads and pavements that have been allocated funding for maintenance from the annual highways capital programme by visiting www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/roads/highways-capital-programme
And you can check what roads across Gedling have been repaired by visiting: www.nottshighways.co.uk
I’ve reported a pothole and it’s still there. What’s going on?
It could be that it doesn’t meet criteria for ‘emergency’ repair, and so others have been prioritised, or it could simply be a lack of capacity and resource in the face of millions and millions of pounds of damage that’s been caused in the last few weeks by the bad weather.
Ok, Tom, enough about the County Council. You’re my MP, what specifically are you doing about this issue?
As with many things in life, this issue is about funding. And given how widespread the issue is, you’ll appreciate that a lot of money is required.
As your Member of Parliament, I’ve been lobbying for more money from Government for our roads. I’ve done this on the floor of the House of Commons in parliamentary questions and privately with Ministers, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
And has this lobbying worked? Are we getting any extra money?
Yes, there is good news: I’m pleased that the Chancellor recently provided Nottinghamshire County Council with more than £7,000,000 for road repair funding. From 2025, the Council will get an extra £13,000,000 per year. But I’ll keep asking the Treasury for more.
Is this money actually enough? And if it isn’t, what’s next?
The money secured is helpful, but more is required.
One of the other things that I’ve campaigned on is the swift creation of the East Midlands Combined Authority which will create a new East Midlands Mayor. I know that new tiers of government are unpopular - and I’d normally be against them - but this new role comes with new powers and more funding for our region.
The new mayor will have a £1.5 billion Transport Fund. This is a significant cash injection into Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. With this money on-stream, and with the right mayor holding the purse-strings, this could be a game-changer for our region’s roads.
There’s nothing that I would love more than for local residents to wake up one morning to find a fresh blanket of tarmac has been laid across every street in Gedling. But the reality is that this is a big problem requiring a long-term solution. It can be fixed, but it won’t be fixed overnight.
I will keep campaigning for more money from the Chancellor for repairs. As a Gedling resident, I will keep reporting potholes. And when the East Midlands Mayor is elected, I will lobby them to make sure the Transport Fund is spent on our roads.
