Kimmins launches £7.85m Winter Recovery Road Fund to tackle road damage

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has launched a £7.85 million Winter Recovery Road Fund to address widespread damage caused by recent severe weather, following a sharp rise in potholes and surface defects across the road network.

The announcement comes in addition to 40 resurfacing schemes already programmed after the Minister’s December Monitoring allocation, and is intended to provide an urgent response to the impact of storms, prolonged rainfall, ice and snow.

£7.85m fund targets worst-affected roads

Minister Kimmins said the winter period has taken an exceptional toll on road conditions, with defects rising to near-record levels.

She said:

“I am all too aware that the recent storms, prolonged rainfall, ice and snow have all taken their toll on our roads, and I have been working to identify and secure funding to address the problem.

“Today, I can confirm that I have established a £7.85m Winter Recovery Road Fund to allow an urgent and direct focus on repairing the surface defects which are causing the most concern.”

Highlighting the scale of the issue, the Minister added:

“The winter period has taken a severe toll on the road network. To put the current situation in context, 49,000 defects have been recorded in the last three months alone, which is close to half the total for the whole of the previous year.”

Workforce capacity and urgent repairs

While acknowledging that not all defects can be addressed immediately, Minister Kimmins said additional steps are being taken to maximise the impact of the funding.

She said:

“Given the scale of the damage caused, it is not possible to address every issue in the short-term. However, in addition to securing the additional funding being announced today, I have also asked my officials to also explore every avenue to maximise our available workforce capacity to ensure we are doing as much as we can as quickly as possible.”

The fund will focus on repairs to the worst-affected areas, with the aim of completing works as quickly as possible.

Minister Kimmins said:

“I am committed to doing all I can to improve our roads and the Winter Recovery Road Fund will allow vital repairs to the worst affected areas to be carried out in a focused way and completed as soon as possible.”

Longer-term road maintenance strategy

Alongside the short-term recovery fund, the Minister pointed to broader plans to improve road maintenance standards across the network.

She said:

“I want to raise the standard of maintenance across the network, ensuring that interventions are timely, durable, and delivered to consistently high specifications. I launched the new Road Maintenance Strategy in December which recently closed for public consultation and I hope that people took the opportunity to respond.”

Public reporting and safety focus

The Minister concluded by encouraging continued public reporting of road defects, stressing that safety remains the top priority.

She said:

“The Winter Recovery Road Fund will allow additional repairs on the worst of our weather-impacted roads. This short-term boost is coupled with the longer-term strategy that will provide greater detail to inform strategic decision making.

“This will also continue to be supported by the ongoing reporting of potholes and surface defects via the online portal and I encourage the public to do this.

“Maintenance staff will continue to inspect and make-safe defects by working to address the highest priority defects as fast as possible, in accordance with our policy to ensure the safety of the travelling public.”

Why winter weather causes road damage

Potholes and surface defects are more likely at this time of year due to freeze–thaw cycles, where water enters small cracks, freezes, and expands, breaking apart the road surface. Heavy or prolonged rainfall can damage underlying layers, reducing a road’s load-bearing capacity and leading to potholes, rutting and surface deformation. Flooding can also erode sub-base materials, damage embankments and block drainage systems, accelerating long-term deterioration and increasing maintenance demands.