Source
Department for Transport — Local road maintenance ratings 2025 to 2026
greenOverall|amber Conditiongreen Spendgreen Best Practice
Leeds: Green-Rated Process, Amber-Rated Roads
Leeds City Council earns an overall GREEN DfT rating — strong on spend and best practice — but road condition is only AMBER. Their own transparency report shows RED classified roads more than doubled in 2024, a £288.3m backlog, and 26,007 potholes filled in 2024/25 alone on a network where 78% of carriageway is unclassified residential roads.
26,007
Potholes filled in 2024/25
Up from 7,938 in 2020/21 — while RED A-roads rose from 2.8% to 5.1% and RED B/C roads from 2.6% to 5.9% in the same period Leeds reports filling more potholes than ever.
The Split Verdict: GREEN Overall, AMBER on the Roads
Leeds performs well on process and investment. The claim-relevant metric — physical road condition — sits at AMBER.
| Metric | Rating | What it means for claims |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | green | Above-average council — expect a organised Section 58 defence |
| Condition | amber | Mid-table roads — the metric that actually matters for your pothole |
| Spend | green | £18.3m DfT capital matched by £18.2m council capital in 2025/26 |
| Best Practice | green | Well Managed Highways Code, asset management strategy, AI-assisted inspections |
What GREEN overall means: Leeds is not failing. It invests heavily, follows national asset management guidance, and earns GREEN on spend and best practice. Many councils rated worse still deny every claim — Leeds at least publishes honest condition data.
What AMBER condition means for your claim: The DfT is telling you the roads themselves are only mid-table. Your claim does not turn on the council's process scorecard — it turns on whether the specific defect on your specific road was reasonably inspected and repaired under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.
3,004km of Roads — 78% Unclassified
Leeds manages one of England's largest urban highway networks. Most of it is residential.
| Road class | Length | Share of network | Survey cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| A roads | 406 km | 13.5% | SCANNER — 50% surveyed annually (2-year full cycle) |
| B and C roads | 256 km | 8.5% | SCANNER — 50% surveyed annually (2-year full cycle) |
| U roads (unclassified) | 2,342 km | 78.0% | >25% surveyed annually (4-year full cycle) |
| Total carriageway | 3,004 km | 100% | Plus 5,619 km footways, 148 km cycleways |
Why the 4-Year U-Road Cycle Matters for Section 58
Leeds condition-surveys unclassified roads through Engineers Inspection (EIN) surveys covering just over 25% of the network each year. That means any given residential street may go up to four years between formal condition assessments — even though safety inspections run separately.
- • When was your road last EIN-surveyed — year one, two, three, or four of the cycle?
- • With 7.9% of U-roads in RED at the latest survey, was yours on the priority list?
- • Did a safety inspection catch the defect before you hit it, or only after?
A GREEN process rating does not mean every metre of every U-road is continuously monitored for structural condition.
What The Five-Year Condition Data Shows
SCANNER and EIN survey data from Leeds' own transparency report — classified RED roads spiking in 2024
A roads (406 km): RED more than doubled in 2024
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2.3% | 32.0% | 65.8% |
| 2021 | 1.9% | 30.0% | 68.1% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | 31.4% | 66.0% |
| 2023 | 2.8% | 32.8% | 64.4% |
| 2024 | 5.1% | 30.8% | 64.1% |
RED A-roads jumped from 2.8% to 5.1% in a single survey year — the highest RED share in the five-year dataset.
B and C roads (256 km): same pattern, sharper spike
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1.7% | 29.7% | 68.6% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | 29.4% | 68.9% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | 32.3% | 65.4% |
| 2023 | 2.6% | 32.5% | 65.0% |
| 2024 | 5.9% | 31.6% | 62.5% |
B/C RED roads more than doubled from 2.6% to 5.9% between 2023 and 2024. Good-condition B/C roads fell from 68.6% to 62.5% over the full five-year period.
U roads (2,342 km): RED share — residential network
| Year | U-roads in RED condition |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 6.7% |
| 2021 | 6.5% |
| 2022 | 5.8% |
| 2023 | 8.2% |
| 2024 | 7.9% |
At 7.9% RED, roughly 185 km of Leeds' unclassified network was in the worst condition category at the latest survey — estate roads, residential streets, and village routes where most pothole damage occurs.
"The increase in red-rated U roads in 2023 reflects the impact of extreme weather events, competing demands on limited funding and an ageing infrastructure the result of which is the challenge to manage a declining network."
— Leeds City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Following the Money
Leeds matches DfT capital pound-for-pound with council capital — and still faces a £288.3m backlog
| Year | DfT capital (£) | LCC capital (£) | Revenue (£) | Preventative % | Reactive % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 13,014,573 | 12,300,000 | 5,320,210 | 82.6% | 17.4% |
| 2021/22 | 10,758,681 | 12,300,000 | 5,327,932 | 81.2% | 18.8% |
| 2022/23 | 14,780,800 | 15,000,000 | 5,327,932 | 84.8% | 15.2% |
| 2023/24 | 20,048,648 | 15,000,000 | 5,327,932 | 86.8% | 13.2% |
| 2024/25 | 25,263,043 | 11,150,200 | 5,343,000 | 87.2% | 12.8% |
| 2025/26 | 18,256,605 | 18,242,900 | 5,343,000 | 87.2% | 12.8% |
"In addition to the capital funding that is received from the DfT, we have also allocated a significant amount of its own capital funding for many years. This reflects the scale of the backlog (estimated at £288.3M) and the high priority afforded to this type of work by the council, Members and the public."
— Leeds City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Leeds resurfaced over 121 km of carriageway in 2024/25 and plans 124 km in 2025/26, funded via the West Yorkshire CRSTS settlement (2022/23 to 2026/27). From 2026/27, condition surveys transition to BSI PAS2161 — five categories instead of three — which will break comparability with the RED/Amber/Green data above.
65,104 Potholes in Five Years
Reactive repair volume on a network Leeds admits is declining
| Year | Potholes filled |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 7,938 |
| 2021/22 | 7,658 |
| 2022/23 | 8,855 |
| 2023/24 | 14,646 |
| 2024/25 | 26,007 |
| Five-year total | 65,104 |
"Unfortunately, despite our best-efforts new potholes can quickly form, increase in size, and can often be found in clusters occurring in a similar time frame."
— Leeds City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Leeds links the 2023/24 spike to the second wettest year on record since 1836, with eleven named storms. It has allocated £2m to review pothole repairs end-to-end and estimates filling approximately 15,000 potholes in 2025/26 — still nearly double the 2020/21 baseline.
Claiming Against a Well-Run GREEN Council
Honest assessment: Leeds is not Derbyshire — here is how that changes your approach
What Works In The Council's Favour
- ✓ GREEN overall, spend and best-practice scorecards
- ✓ Council capital matched to DfT allocation (£18.2m each in 2025/26)
- ✓ 87.2% preventative maintenance spend — well above reactive
- ✓ Documented asset management strategy, AI-assisted inspections, CRSTS funding
- ✓ 121 km resurfaced in 2024/25 — genuine planned investment
Expect a well-documented Section 58 defence. Generic "council neglect" arguments will fail.
What Works In Yours
- ✗ AMBER condition — mid-table roads despite GREEN process scores
- ✗ RED classified roads more than doubled in 2024 (A: 2.8%→5.1%, B/C: 2.6%→5.9%)
- ✗ Council admits "the challenge to manage a declining network"
- ✗ £288.3m backlog — deterioration outpaces even matched funding
- ✗ 78% of network on 4-year U-road condition cycle; 7.9% RED at latest survey
- ✗ 65,104 potholes in five years — defects form in clusters between inspections
The Winning Strategy Here Is Specificity
Against a council with GREEN spend and best-practice scorecards, your claim lives or dies on the specific defect under Section 41 and Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980:
- • Prior reports of the same pothole (FixMyStreet, council reports) — proof of actual notice
- • Photos showing defect size, depth and visible age (weathered edges, previous patching)
- • Road class — on a U-road, the 4-year EIN survey cycle is your strongest structural argument
- • Timing relative to the 2023 weather spike Leeds itself links to increased RED U-roads
This is not a failing council. But it is a council whose own data proves it cannot prevent every pothole — and whose AMBER condition rating confirms the roads are only mid-table, not exemplary.
Hit a Pothole in Leeds?
A well-run council demands a well-built claim. £35 for a professional claim pack.
DIY Claim
- • Submit photos and invoices
- • Use generic template letter
- • No U-road 4-year survey-cycle argument
- • No prior-report search
- • Ignore the GREEN vs AMBER rating split
Professional Claim Pack
- ✅ AMBER condition vs GREEN overall framed honestly
- ✅ 2024 classified RED spike documented
- ✅ Declining network admission cited verbatim
- ✅ Prior reports searched and attached
- ✅ Section 58 rebuttal tailored to Leeds
No percentage fees. You keep 100% of any compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leeds has an overall GREEN DfT rating — does that block my pothole claim?
No. The overall GREEN rating reflects strong spend and best-practice scorecards alongside mid-table road condition. Section 58 turns on whether the specific defect that damaged your vehicle was reasonably inspected and repaired — not on the council's headline DfT colour. Leeds' own data shows classified RED roads more than doubled in 2024 and 65,104 potholes filled in five years.
Why is Leeds GREEN overall but AMBER on condition?
The DfT weights spend, process and best practice alongside condition. Leeds matches its DfT capital allocation with similar council capital (£18.3m each in 2025/26), spends 87.2% preventatively, and holds a £288.3m backlog it is actively funding down. That earns GREEN on spend and best practice. Road condition is only AMBER because SCANNER data shows RED A-roads rising from 2.8% to 5.1% and RED B/C roads from 2.6% to 5.9% between 2023 and 2024.
What if my pothole was on a residential or unclassified road?
Unclassified roads make up 2,342km — 78% of Leeds' 3,004km carriageway network. Engineers Inspection surveys cover just over 25% of U-roads each year, meaning the full network is assessed on a four-year cycle. At the latest survey, 7.9% of U-roads were RED — roughly 185km of residential and estate routes. The council itself links the 2023 spike in RED U-roads to extreme weather and admits it faces "the challenge to manage a declining network."
Does Leeds' £288.3m maintenance backlog help my claim?
It strengthens context, not automatic liability. Leeds publicly estimates a £288.3m backlog and allocates its own capital alongside DfT funding to address it. That admission shows the council knows deterioration outpaces budget — but you still need evidence the specific defect was reportable, visible, and left unrepaired within their inspection intervals.
Leeds filled 26,007 potholes in 2024/25 — does that mean the roads are fixed?
No. Leeds filled 26,007 potholes in 2024/25 — up from 7,938 in 2020/21 — while simultaneously reporting more RED classified roads than at any point in the five-year data. The council states that "despite our best-efforts new potholes can quickly form, increase in size, and can often be found in clusters." Reactive volume proves defects form faster than planned works eliminate them.
How does Section 58 apply to a well-run GREEN council like Leeds?
Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 lets councils defend claims by proving reasonable maintenance systems. Leeds' GREEN best-practice rating, AI-assisted inspections, and 87.2% preventative spend make their defence stronger than most. But Section 58 is defect-specific: if your pothole met intervention criteria, was previously reported, or should have been found on a safety inspection before you hit it, the defence weakens regardless of headline ratings.
Data sources: Department for Transport — Local Road Maintenance Ratings 2025 to 2026 | Leeds City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Reusable evidence record
Council rating evidence and provenance
Rating period: 2025-2026 · Reviewed 19 July 2026
Observed DfT fact
Overall GREEN; condition AMBER; spend GREEN; best practice GREEN.
Cautious interpretation
This is network-level context. The rating does not determine liability for a particular incident or establish what was known about a specific defect.
Correction status: No correction recorded.