Kirklees: 29% of U-Roads in RED — Nearly Double Since 2020
Kirklees Council outspends its DfT capital allocation every year and earns a GREEN spend scorecard. Yet the overall rating is AMBER — because 29% of unclassified roads are now in RED condition, up from 17% in 2020, A-road deterioration has more than doubled since 2022, and the council filled 206,900 potholes in five years on a network where three-quarters of carriageway is residential.
What The Condition Data Shows
Five years of SCANNER and CVI survey data from Kirklees' own transparency report — classified roads spiking in 2023, U-roads steadily worsening
The network (1,894.3km total carriageway)
A-roads (210.1km): deteriorating since 2022
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2.8% | 20.9% | 76.3% |
| 2021 | 2.1% | — | 79.8% |
| 2022 | 2.1% | 17.9% | 80.0% |
| 2023 | 4.9% | 24.4% | 70.7% |
| 2024 | 4.6% | 23.9% | 71.5% |
A-road RED condition more than doubled from its 2022 low (2.1% → 4.6%), and good-condition A-roads fell from 80.0% to 71.5%. Data collected annually via SCANNER survey.
B and C roads (238.6km): 2023 spike, still elevated
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3.0% | 23.1% | 73.9% |
| 2021 | 2.6% | 23.2% | 74.2% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | 23.0% | 74.4% |
| 2023 | 6.3% | 29.3% | 64.4% |
| 2024 | 4.8% | 26.7% | 68.5% |
B/C RED roads hit 6.3% in 2023 — more than double the 2021/22 figure — before easing to 4.8% in 2024. Green B/C roads remain 6 percentage points below their 2022 peak.
And This Is The Well-Funded Version
In 2024/25 Kirklees spent £19.4m against a DfT allocation of £10.1m — nearly double. Roads are still deteriorating on the metrics that decide claims. The problem isn't the chequebook alone; condition and best practice both sit at AMBER.
The 1,445.6km Residential Network
76% of Kirklees carriageway is unclassified — surveyed by CVI, not SCANNER
| Year | U-roads in RED condition |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 17% |
| 2021 | 17% |
| 2022 | 28% |
| 2023 | 28% |
| 2024 | 29% |
CVI, Not SCANNER
Kirklees surveys its unclassified network using Coarse Visual Inspection (CVI) — a visual assessment — while A and B/C roads get automated SCANNER surveys at traffic speed. The transparency report publishes only RED percentages for U-roads, not full amber/green splits.
From 2026/27 a new PAS 2161 methodology will replace the current three-category system with five categories — another potential break in comparability for claims spanning years.
Where Most Defects Are Reported
The council's LBUR programme (2021–2024) targeted unclassified roads — yet RED U-roads still rose from 17% to 29%. At 29% RED, roughly 419km of residential and estate routes should be considered for maintenance under the council's own definitions.
Kirklees defines a pothole for reporting purposes as up to a 1m² area. Larger defects may be counted differently — worth checking against the specific hole that damaged your vehicle.
"Kirklees unclassified network is surveyed using a Coarse Visual Inspection (CVI) survey. It's a visual inspection and focusses on condition areas similar to a SCANNER survey."
— Kirklees Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
"Additionally, the Locality Based Unclassified Roads (LBUR) Programme, funded by Kirklees Council for the years 2021 to 2024, positively impacted the condition of unclassified roads (U-roads), where most defects are reported."
— Kirklees Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Why This Matters For Section 58
To rely on the Section 58 defence under the Highways Act 1980, a council must show it had a reasonable system for knowing the condition of its roads. For Kirklees' unclassified network, ask:
- • When was your road last CVI-surveyed — and what RED band did it fall into?
- • If 29% of U-roads are RED, what proactive works were scheduled for your street?
- • Did Asset Maintenance Technicians inspect your route before the defect formed?
- • Does the CVI methodology catch defects as reliably as SCANNER on classified roads?
A council can't claim equal knowledge of a network it surveys differently — especially when RED U-roads have risen 12 percentage points in five years despite targeted LBUR investment.
206,900 Potholes in Five Years
The scale of reactive repair — and the council's own explanation for falling counts
| Year | Potholes filled |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 43,775 |
| 2021/22 | 56,733 |
| 2022/23 | 35,212 |
| 2023/24 | 33,539 |
| 2024/25 | 37,641 |
| Five-year total | 206,900 |
"The number of potholes Kirklees Highways Service repaired between 2020/21 and 2024/25 has fluctuated, peaking in 2021/22 before gradually declining. This trend aligns with the introduction of a dedicated Asset Maintenance Technicians, who are responsible for highway safety inspections, coordinating reactive maintenance, and delivering early intervention works."
— Kirklees Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
"The decrease in potholes repaired reflects a drop in reported defects, rather than reduced activity. This would indicate fewer potholes are being identified. This highlights the effectiveness of earlier repair efforts and the benefits of targeted investment, leading to more stable and manageable maintenance demands."
— Kirklees Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
~113 Repairs a Day, Every Day
Averaged over five years, Kirklees fills around 41,380 potholes annually — roughly 113 per day. In 2024/25 alone, 37,641 potholes were filled while RED U-roads reached 29%. A network producing defects at that rate is one where potholes routinely form between inspections.
The Counting Caveat
Kirklees defines a pothole as up to a 1m² area for the purposes of this report. Figures cover a financial year. The council attributes falling repair counts to fewer identified defects — not less activity — which sits awkwardly alongside rising RED U-road percentages.
Five Years of Highway Maintenance Spend
DfT allocation versus actual capital and revenue spend — figures exclude streetlighting energy costs
| Year | DfT capital | Capital spend | Revenue spend | Preventative | Reactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | £9.8m | £15.6m | £4.0m | 79% | 21% |
| 2021/22 | £7.6m | £21.3m | £5.3m | 83% | 17% |
| 2022/23 | £10.1m | £21.9m | £5.3m | 78% | 22% |
| 2023/24 | £13.3m | £20.1m | £2.7m | 82% | 18% |
| 2024/25 | £10.1m | £19.4m | £3.6m | 73% | 27% |
| 2025/26 (proj.) | £13.1m | £17.1m | £3.3m | 71% | 29% |
WYMCA and CRSTS Funding
Kirklees receives additional funding via the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), running 2022/23 to 2026/27. Between 2022/23 and 2024/25, CRSTS delivery included 46.65km of road renewals and 164.15km of preventative carriageway treatment.
In 2024/25 the council delivered 62.07km of carriageway preventative maintenance and 34.11km of footway preventative maintenance — substantial planned output alongside 37,641 pothole fills.
2025/26 Forward Plan
The proposed split for 2025/26 is £14,002,386 preventative and £3,138,820 reactive. Pothole works are budgeted at £1,916,644 for 2025/26 and £2,250,000 for 2026/27. Surface dressing programmes total £1,350,000 in 2025/26.
Major schemes include A6024 Woodhead Road landslip (£820,000 in 2025/26), Bradley Mills Road widening (£2,000,000), and A62 Manchester Road Phase 1 resurfacing (£650,000).
"The approach also helps defend against claims for damages, which in turn protects the public purse."
— Kirklees Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Inspection, AI and the Section 41 Duty
How Kirklees says it maintains the network — and what that means under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980
Survey Methodology
- • A and B/C roads: SCANNER survey — automated lasers, cameras and sensors at traffic speed, collected annually
- • U-roads: Coarse Visual Inspection (CVI) — visual assessment producing RED/amber/green indicators
- • Safety inspections: Asset Maintenance Technicians coordinate reactive maintenance and early intervention
- • AI cameras: Mobile AI camera technology supports defect identification and forward works programmes
The Inspection Gap Argument
Kirklees states that if inspections "don't happen regularly, small problems can get worse and may eventually lead to serious damage or even failure." That is the council's own framing of why regular checks matter — directly relevant to whether they met the Section 41 duty of maintainable repair.
The council follows the Well Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice with a risk-based, life-cycle planning approach. Best practice is AMBER, not GREEN — leaving identifiable process gaps you can probe in a claim response.
"If these inspections don't happen regularly, small problems can get worse and may eventually lead to serious damage or even failure."
— Kirklees Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Claiming Against a Well-Funded AMBER Council
Honest assessment: Kirklees invests heavily — here's how that changes your approach
What Works In The Council's Favour
- ✓ GREEN spend scorecard — capital spend exceeds DfT allocation every year in the table
- ✓ 71–83% preventative spend across the five-year period
- ✓ Well Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice alignment
- ✓ AI-assisted defect identification and documented asset management systems
- ✓ LBUR programme and CRSTS investment on unclassified roads
Expect a structured Section 58 defence. The council explicitly states its approach helps defend claims.
What Works In Yours
- ✗ AMBER condition — RED U-roads up from 17% to 29% since 2020
- ✗ AMBER best practice — weaker process scorecard than double-GREEN neighbours
- ✗ 76% of network on CVI survey, not automated SCANNER
- ✗ 206,900 potholes filled in five years — defects outpace planned works
- ✗ A-road RED more than doubled since 2022; B/C spiked to 6.3% RED in 2023
- ✗ Council admits falling pothole counts mean fewer defects identified — not better roads
The Winning Strategy Here Is Specificity
Against a council with GREEN spend and claim-aware asset management, your claim lives or dies on the specific defect:
- • Prior reports of the same pothole (FixMyStreet, council reports) — proof of actual notice
- • Photos showing the defect's size, depth and visible age (weathered edges, previous patching)
- • The road's class — on a U-road, the CVI survey gap and 29% RED network rate are your strongest structural arguments
- • Whether the pothole exceeded the council's 1m² reporting definition
- • Timing relative to LBUR works or planned 2025/26 resurfacing on your route
Mac builds exactly this case: he searches for prior reports, assesses your photo evidence, and cites Kirklees' own transparency data where it helps you.
Hit a Pothole in Kirklees?
A well-funded council demands a well-built claim. £35 for a professional claim pack.
DIY Claim
- • Submit photos and invoices
- • Use generic template letter
- • No CVI-vs-SCANNER survey argument
- • No prior-report search
- • No U-road deterioration data cited
Professional Claim Pack
- ✅ 29% RED U-road trend documented
- ✅ CVI survey methodology argued
- ✅ 206,900 repairs in five years cited
- ✅ Prior reports searched and attached
- ✅ Section 58 rebuttal tailored to Kirklees
No percentage fees. You keep 100% of any compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kirklees spends nearly double its DfT allocation — can I still claim?
Yes. The DfT Spend scorecard is GREEN, but the ratings that matter for your claim are road condition (AMBER) and best practice (also AMBER). Section 58 turns on whether the specific defect that damaged your vehicle was reasonably inspected and repaired — not on aggregate spend. Kirklees' own data shows RED A-roads more than doubled since 2022 and 29% of unclassified roads are now in RED condition.
What if my pothole was on a residential or unclassified road?
U-roads make up 1,445.6km — 76% of Kirklees' 1,894.3km carriageway network — and the council states this is "where most defects are reported." At the latest survey, 29% of U-roads were in RED condition, up from 17% in 2020. The unclassified network is surveyed by Coarse Visual Inspection (CVI), not the automated SCANNER system used on A and B/C roads.
Pothole repairs fell after 2021/22 — does that mean the roads improved?
Not necessarily. Kirklees filled 56,733 potholes in 2021/22 but only 37,641 in 2024/25 — yet RED U-roads rose from 17% to 29% in the same period. The council's own explanation: "The decrease in potholes repaired reflects a drop in reported defects, rather than reduced activity." Condition data and pothole counts are telling different stories.
Does Kirklees saying maintenance helps "defend against claims" weaken my case?
It shows the council is claim-aware, not claim-proof. Kirklees states its asset management approach "helps defend against claims for damages." That is an admission they rely on documented systems under Section 58 — which you can challenge defect-by-defect with prior reports, photos showing defect age, and evidence the pothole met intervention criteria before you hit it.
A-road RED condition more than doubled — what does that mean for main-road claims?
SCANNER data shows A-road RED condition rose from 2.1% in 2022 to 4.6% in 2024, while green A-roads fell from 80.0% to 71.5%. B/C roads spiked to 6.3% RED in 2023 before easing to 4.8% in 2024 — still above the 2.6% low point. On any classified road, ask whether the council's annual SCANNER survey should have flagged deterioration before your incident.
Why is Kirklees AMBER on best practice as well as condition?
Unlike councils that earn GREEN across spend and best practice, Kirklees is AMBER on both condition and best practice while GREEN on spend. That means the DfT sees investment without fully matching process standards — relevant because Kirklees will still argue a structured Section 58 defence, but with more gaps than a double-GREEN authority like Leeds.
Data sources: Department for Transport — Local Road Maintenance Ratings 2025 to 2026 | Kirklees Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report (June 2025). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.