Key Points
- The Department for Transport has launched a traffic-light rating system grading 154 local highway authorities in England as green, amber or red based on pothole repairs and road maintenance.
- Thirteen councils rated red, including Kensington and Chelsea and Greenwich in London, qualifying for £300,000 in dedicated support.
- Most authorities, including the vast majority of London councils, received amber ratings, indicating room for improvement.
- The ratings assess road conditions, spending on repairs, and adherence to best practices, backed by £7.3 billion government funding over four years.
- Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated the system ensures councils spend funds wisely to deliver safer roads.
- Critics from red-rated councils, including Greenwich, called the ratings misleading.
London (West London News) January 12, 2026 – A new government traffic-light system has exposed stark differences in how London’s 32 borough councils are tackling potholes, with Kensington and Chelsea and Greenwich rated red among the worst performers in England.
The Department for Transport’s interactive map rates local highway authorities on road conditions, repair spending, and best practice adoption, revealing that while most London councils sit in the amber category, two have fallen into the bottom tier. This marks the first time drivers and cyclists can directly compare council performance, amid £7.3 billion in funding pledged over four years to shift from temporary fixes to long-term preventative measures.
Which London councils perform worst in pothole repairs?
Among England’s 13 red-rated authorities, Kensington and Chelsea in west London and Greenwich in south-east London stand out as the capital’s poorest performers, according to the DfT’s ratings published on January 11. These councils failed to meet minimum standards in at least one key area: current road conditions, spending levels, or best practice use, such as efficient pothole prevention technologies.
The DfT has allocated £300,000 for a dedicated support programme targeting red authorities like these, offering expert planning assistance to align them with top practices. Labour councillor Calum O’Byrne Mulligan from Greenwich dismissed the rating as “misleading”, insisting it does not reflect the borough’s realities. Kensington and Chelsea officials have not publicly commented, but the rating has sparked calls for urgent improvement.
As reported by ITV News, the map highlights how red councils like Kensington and Chelsea are prioritised for intervention to prevent ongoing driver frustration from vehicle damage costing an average £320 per pothole incident.
How are other London councils faring overall?
The majority of London’s councils, including high-profile boroughs like Westminster, Camden, and Tower Hamlets, earned amber ratings, meaning they meet some standards but require enhancements in pothole management. No London authority achieved a green rating in the initial assessments, with top national performers like Manchester, Leeds, and Sandwell leading the greens elsewhere in England.
Amber status signals that these councils are spending government funds but not fully optimising for preventative repairs, a shift the DfT aims to enforce through future performance-linked allocations. Edmund King, president of the AA, welcomed the transparency, noting potholes as the top concern for 96% of members and urging more permanent fixes.
What criteria determine these pothole ratings?
Ratings combine three metrics: the existing state of local roads, the proportion of budgets devoted to maintenance, and compliance with best practices like technology-driven repairs. For London boroughs, urban density and traffic volumes exacerbate pothole formation, yet amber dominance suggests inconsistent application of the £7.3 billion investment announced in the Autumn Budget.
Caroline Julian from British Cycling praised the system for giving users “clear insight” into cycle route maintenance, vital in pothole-prone London. The DfT’s map, accessible online, allows residents to zoom into borough-level data for the first time.
What do council leaders say about the ratings?
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander emphasised accountability, stating: “For too long drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate… Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely”. In west London, Kensington and Chelsea’s red rating contrasts with amber neighbours, prompting Local Government Association scrutiny of a £17 billion national repair backlog.
Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Thornton from Westmorland and Furness, another red area, vowed to engage the DfT on methodology, a stance echoed by London critics. Shadow transport figures like Richard Holden argued the map alone won’t fix roads, demanding action beyond ratings.
What happens next for London’s pothole repairs?
Red-rated London councils will access the £300,000 support alongside 11 others, with the government extending the Live Labs 2 programme for innovative fixes. Future funding ties directly to improved ratings, pressuring amber boroughs to adopt proactive strategies and reduce the £320 average repair bill for drivers.
The ratings build on four-year funding certainty, enabling councils to plan resurfacing over patchy pothole fills, as advocated by industry experts like former LCRIG CEO Paula Claytonsmith. While some question rating accuracy, the system promises greater public oversight on how London’s councils deploy taxpayer money for smoother streets.
