Manchester: GREEN Overall, AMBER Roads Underneath
Manchester City Council earns GREEN overall from the DfT — driven by strong spend and best-practice scorecards. But road condition is AMBER, and 1,020km of unclassified streets — 76% of the network — still carry 15% in RED condition. The rating rewards how the council manages its £3bn highway asset; your claim turns on the specific defect.
The Split Verdict
GREEN overall despite AMBER condition — the DfT rewards process and investment, not perfect tarmac
| Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating | green |
| Road Condition | amber |
| Spend | green |
| Best Practice | green |
What GREEN Overall Means
Manchester performs above average on how it spends, plans, and manages its highway assets. Since 2017, internal borrowing has funded over £125m of capital investment. The council classifies 85–86% of recent spend as preventative — a well-run system by national standards.
What AMBER Condition Means For You
Condition is the scorecard that maps to the road beneath your tyres. Manchester's own data shows 15% of unclassified roads in RED and footways stuck at 14% in poor or very poor condition. GREEN overall does not mean the pothole that damaged your car was reasonably maintained — only that the council's systems look competent on paper.
1,343km of Roads, £3bn of Asset
Manchester's highway network from Appendix 1 of the council's transparency report
| Road class | Length | Share of network |
|---|---|---|
| A roads | 167 km | 12.4% |
| B and C roads | 156 km | 11.6% |
| Unclassified roads | 1,020 km | 75.9% |
| Total carriageways | 1,343 km | 100% |
The network also includes 2,668 km of footways, 260 km of cycleways, 350+ bridges and structures, and over 120,000 drainage gullies — a highway asset valued at over £3 billion.
The Claim-Relevant Split
Manchester's investment success story is told largely through A-roads — 78% in GREEN condition in 2024, RED down from 8% to 6% since 2020. But three-quarters of the network is unclassified roads, where RED condition still sits at 15% and only 67% are GREEN.
A GREEN overall rating built on strategic-road performance does not automatically protect the council on a residential street in Moss Side, Wythenshawe, or Harpurhey.
Five Years of Condition Data
RED, amber and green bandings by road class — Appendix 3 of Manchester's transparency report
A roads (167 km — improving)
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 8% | 19% | 73% |
| 2022 | 8% | 16% | 76% |
| 2024 | 6% | 16% | 78% |
Credit where due: Manchester's A-roads have genuinely improved. But they are barely one-eighth of the network.
B and C roads (156 km — stable)
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 10% | 18% | 72% |
| 2022 | 9% | 17% | 74% |
| 2024 | 6% | 19% | 75% |
B/C roads look broadly stable — but amber banding ticked up to 19% in 2024, meaning nearly a quarter of these roads may need maintenance soon.
Unclassified roads (1,020 km — the claim hotspot)
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 21% | 18% | 61% |
| 2022 | 16% | 18% | 66% |
| 2024 | 15% | 18% | 67% |
U-road RED condition improved from 21% to 14% between 2020 and 2023 — then rose again to 15% in 2024. That is roughly 153km of residential and neighbourhood streets in RED condition. A third of the U-road network (15% red + 18% amber) needs or will soon need maintenance.
Footways: stuck at 14% poor or very poor
Carriageways in grades 4 and 5 fell from 25% in 2017 to 12% in 2024. Footways moved from 16% to 14% over the same period — essentially flat while roads received the investment focus.
"Most investment focused on roads. This is why footway conditions have generally not improved. Now, footways are a priority in upcoming maintenance plans, along with local and neighbourhood roads."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
Inspections, Surveys and Section 58
How Manchester finds defects — and what the council admits it does not repair
Condition Surveys
"The condition of our entire highways network is currently assessed every two years (approximately half of the network is surveyed each year). This is done by our survey contractor using video assessments and, if needed, on-foot data collection."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
Appendix 3 confirms annual surveys capture about 50% of the total network each year — all road classes surveyed within a two-year window. Ask when your specific road was last condition-surveyed.
Safety Inspections
Manchester operates under the GM Framework for Highway Safety Inspections, endorsed by all 10 Greater Manchester highway authorities, alongside its own Safety Inspection Policy. A team of highways inspectors assesses adopted roads and footways, ordering repairs where needed.
"We operate a risk-based approach to fixing issues that are found through inspections or reported to us, meaning that serious safety problems are always prioritised for repair."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
Defects the Council Chooses Not to Fix
"Some minor defects don't pose a danger to people or damage the road, so they aren't marked for repair."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
Manchester defines a pothole as a round dip or hole 40mm deep or more. A defect below that threshold may exist on the network without being marked for repair — even if it damaged your vehicle. Your evidence must show the defect met the council's own intervention criteria.
Section 58 Questions Worth Asking
Under Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980, Manchester must show it took reasonable care to maintain the specific highway. For a well-rated council, your claim probes the gap between policy and the defect:
- • Was your road in the 50% surveyed this year, or the half that was not?
- • Did the defect meet the 40mm pothole threshold and GM inspection intervention criteria?
- • Was it reported before your incident — via FixMyStreet, the council website, or a prior inspection?
- • On a U-road with 15% RED network-wide, what was done about your street specifically?
A GREEN rating proves competent systems exist. It does not prove those systems caught your pothole in time.
76,985 Potholes in Five Years
Reactive repair volumes from Appendix 2 — the network still produces defects at scale
| Year | Potholes filled |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 16,582 |
| 2021/22 | 13,083 |
| 2022/23 | 22,000 |
| 2023/24 | 15,200 |
| 2024/25 | 10,120 |
| Five-year total | 76,985 |
The 2022/23 Spike
Manchester filled 22,000 potholes in 2022/23 — nearly double the 2024/25 figure. That year-over-year volatility tells you defects form in bursts, often driven by weather, not steady improvement. A lower count in 2024/25 does not mean your road was inspected more recently.
2025/26 Forecast
"We expect to fill about 10,000 potholes which will be identified in 2025/26. Our highway safety inspectors will find most during their regular inspections, along with those that customers report. This number may change due to environmental factors, like severe winter weather."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
Following the Money
Manchester's GREEN spend scorecard is earned — capital investment far exceeds the DfT allocation. But revenue reactive work still runs to millions each year.
| Year | DfT allocation | Capital spend | Revenue spend | Preventative | Reactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | £8.44m | £20.86m | £3.42m | 86% | 14% |
| 2024/25 | £8.04m | £21.83m | £3.69m | 86% | 14% |
| 2025/26 (projected) | £6.44m | £21.09m | £3.60m | 85% | 15% |
2024/25 Capital Delivery
- • Road resurfacing — 31 km
- • Road overlay treatments — 23 km
- • Footway treatments — 66 km
- • Bridges and structures — 8 schemes
2025/26 Planned Programme
- • Road resurfacing — 22 km
- • Road overlay treatments — 33 km
- • Footway treatments — 63 km (149 schemes)
- • Bridges and structures — 6 schemes proposed
What Manchester Acknowledges
Direct quotes from the council's 2025/26 transparency report
On the Improvement Narrative
"In 2017, 25% of all our roads were in this poor or very poor condition, but this has now reduced to about 12% in 2024."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
A genuine improvement — but the council's own footway data flatlined at 14% poor or very poor, and U-road RED ticked back up in 2024.
On Claims and Proactive Maintenance
"This pro-active work reduces costly reactive repairs and lowers the chance of third-party claims."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
Manchester explicitly links preventative maintenance to claim reduction — yet still expects 10,000 pothole repairs in 2025/26. The proactive programme has not eliminated defects.
On Data Methodology
"The numbers in these tables are slightly different from those on the official Road Condition Statistics website. This is because: Some changes were made to C and U road lengths. The way we have split the 1-5 grading system into red, amber, and green condition has changed slightly and this has been applied to previous years for consistency."
— Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26
Claiming Against a GREEN-Rated, AMBER-Condition Council
Honest assessment: Manchester is not Derbyshire — here is how that changes your approach
What Works In The Council's Favour
- ✓ GREEN spend — capital investment 2–3× the DfT allocation
- ✓ GREEN best practice — ISO-aligned asset management, lifecycle planning, GM Framework inspections
- ✓ A-road condition genuinely improving — 78% GREEN in 2024
- ✓ 85–86% of spend classed as preventative in recent years
- ✓ Roads in poor/very poor condition halved since 2017 (25% → 12%)
Expect a well-documented Section 58 defence on strategic and recently resurfaced routes. Generic negligence arguments will struggle.
What Works In Yours
- ✗ AMBER condition — DfT rates the roads mid-table despite GREEN overall
- ✗ 1,020km of U-roads with 15% RED and only 67% GREEN
- ✗ 50% of the network condition-surveyed per year — two-year blind spots
- ✗ 76,985 potholes filled in five years — defects still form at scale
- ✗ Footways stuck at 14% poor/very poor — council admits roads took priority
- ✗ Minor defects below repair threshold left on the network by design
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:
- • Prior reports of the same pothole (FixMyStreet, council online reports) — proof of actual notice
- • Photos showing depth, width and visible age — especially whether the defect exceeds 40mm
- • Road class — on a U-road, the 15% network-wide RED rate and two-year survey cycle are your structural arguments
- • Whether the defect met GM Framework intervention criteria and how long it remained unrepaired
Mac builds exactly this case: he searches for prior reports, assesses your photo evidence, and cites Manchester's own transparency data where it helps you — without pretending the council is failing.
Hit a Pothole in Manchester?
A well-rated 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 condition argument
- • No two-year survey-gap analysis
- • No prior-report search
Professional Claim Pack
- ✅ AMBER condition vs GREEN overall framed honestly
- ✅ 1,020km U-road network data cited
- ✅ 76,985 potholes in five years documented
- ✅ Prior reports searched and attached
- ✅ Section 58 rebuttal tailored to Manchester
No percentage fees. You keep 100% of any compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Manchester's GREEN overall rating block my pothole claim?
No — but it changes your approach. GREEN overall reflects strong spend and best-practice scorecards, not perfect roads. The DfT rates Manchester AMBER on condition. Section 58 turns on whether the specific defect that damaged your vehicle was reasonably inspected and repaired, not on the headline rating.
What if my pothole was on a residential or unclassified road?
Unclassified roads make up 1,020km — 76% of Manchester's 1,343km carriageway network. At the latest survey, 15% of U-roads were in RED condition and only 67% in GREEN. Most pothole claims occur on these local streets, not the A-roads where Manchester performs best.
Manchester surveys half its network each year — what does that mean for Section 58?
The council assesses approximately 50% of its network annually, meaning any given road may go up to two years between condition surveys. For a defect on an unsurveyed stretch, ask when your road was last measured and whether routine safety inspections under the GM Framework would have caught it.
Pothole repairs fell to 10,120 in 2024/25 — does that mean the roads are fixed?
No. Manchester still filled 10,120 potholes in 2024/25 and expects about 10,000 more in 2025/26. The council itself notes that some defects will still be found despite recent improvements, and that the figure may change with severe winter weather.
Manchester spends well over triple its DfT allocation — can I still claim?
Yes. Capital spend reached £21.8m in 2024/25 against a DfT allocation of £8.0m, with 86% classed as preventative. That strengthens Manchester's Section 58 defence on paper — but AMBER condition and 15% RED U-roads show defects still form. Your claim lives on the specific pothole, prior reports, and inspection records.
Why is Manchester AMBER on condition when the council says roads improved?
Both can be true. Manchester cut roads in poor or very poor condition from 25% in 2017 to 12% in 2024 — but footways have not improved, U-roads still have 15% in RED, and the council admits its published condition figures differ slightly from the official DfT statistics due to methodology changes.
Data sources: Department for Transport — Local Road Maintenance Ratings 2025 to 2026 | Manchester City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025/26. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.