Source
Department for Transport — Local road maintenance ratings 2025 to 2026
amberOverall|amber Conditiongreen Spendred Best Practice
Newcastle: RED Best Practice, 100% Reactive Repairs
Newcastle City Council matches its DfT capital allocation and earns a GREEN spend scorecard. Yet the overall rating is AMBER — and the DfT flags its highway management as RED for best practice. The council's own transparency report records 0% preventative spend in every published year, U-roads in RED condition more than doubled to 28.9% on comparable data, and 79,247 potholes were filled in five years.
0%
Preventative highway spend — five years running
Newcastle's own figures classify 100% of capital and revenue highway spend as reactive from 2020/21 through to the 2025/26 forecast. Preventative treatment is described only as a future "aspiration".
What The RED Best-Practice Rating Reveals
The DfT's weakest management scorecard — backed by the council's own spending classifications
"The works we carry out on our highway are currently reactive treatments based on condition surveys, visual inspections, and reports from members of the public."
— Newcastle City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
"Going forward it is our aspiration to look at implementing preventative treatments into our highway maintenance programme such as surface dressing, slurry sealing and micro asphalting."
— Newcastle City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
| Year | Preventative | Reactive |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 (forecast) | 0% | 100% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 100% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 100% |
| 2022/23 | 0% | 100% |
| 2021/22 | 0% | 100% |
| 2020/21 | 0% | 100% |
Why This Matters For Section 58
Under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, the council must maintain its roads. Section 58 lets it escape liability only if it can show a reasonable system of inspection and repair. A council that classifies every pound of highway spend as reactive — and describes preventative work as a future aspiration — is documenting a fix-it-when-it-breaks model, not proactive asset management.
The RED best-practice scorecard is not an opinion. It is the DfT's assessment of exactly what Newcastle's own figures describe.
What The Condition Data Shows
Five years of condition data from Newcastle's own transparency report — stable classified roads, then a methodology cliff in 2024
A-roads (66.2km — 6.3% of network): stable, then 2024 spike*
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 2% | 14.9% | 83.1% |
| 2021/22 | 2.6% | 18.6% | 78.8% |
| 2022/23 | 2.8% | 17.2% | 79.9% |
| 2023/24 | 1.9% | 16.5% | 81.5% |
| 2024/25* | 5.96% | 57.38% | 36.66% |
On comparable SCANNER-era data, A-roads held steady at 1.9–2.8% RED. The 2024/25 jump uses Gaist PAS 2161 surveys — not directly comparable per the council's own footnote.
B and C roads (131.1km — 12.5% of network): same cliff*
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 1.5% | 14.3% | 84.2% |
| 2021/22 | 1.4% | 15.6% | 83% |
| 2022/23 | 1.05% | 11.7% | 87.25% |
| 2023/24 | 1.35% | 12.05% | 86.6% |
| 2024/25* | 9.51% | 59.5% | 30.99% |
Comparable data shows B/C roads broadly stable at 1–1.5% RED. The 2024/25 figures — 9.51% RED and only 30.99% green — reflect a new survey methodology, not a like-for-like trend line.
GREEN Spend, Minimal Structural Renewal
£5.44m
DfT capital allocation 2025/26
£5.44m
Projected capital spend 2025/26
0.84%
Of network resurfaced in 2024/25
Newcastle matches its DfT allocation for 2025/26 and exceeded it in three of the previous four years. Yet in 2024/25 it reconstructed or resurfaced just 8,787 metres of 1,051.8km — less than one per cent of the carriageway network. Money is arriving. Structural renewal is not keeping pace.
The 783.4km U-Road Problem
Three-quarters of Newcastle's carriageway network — surveyed only once every two years
| Year | U-roads in RED condition |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 14.17% |
| 2021/22 | 17.4% |
| 2022/23 | 19.62% |
| 2023/24 | 28.9% |
| 2024/25* | 16.07% (new methodology — not comparable) |
More Than Doubled On Comparable Data
On SCANNER-era surveys, U-roads in RED condition rose from 14.17% in 2020/21 to 28.9% in 2023/24 — more than doubling in four years. That is roughly 226km of residential streets, estate roads and local routes in the worst condition band at the last comparable survey.
The council itself acknowledges "deteriorating assets" and "increasing traffic volumes" in its asset management strategy — while classifying every pound of spend as reactive.
The Two-Year Survey Gap
Newcastle appointed Gaist Solutions Ltd in 2024 under a contract running until 2028. The council states: "Our network is surveyed every 2 years."
On a network where U-road RED condition doubled between comparable surveys, a biennial survey cycle means defects can form, grow, and cause damage in the gap — exactly the window Section 58 arguments turn on.
"Despite making substantial progress in recent years, we recognise we are in an increasingly challenging environment, with deteriorating assets, increasing traffic volumes and uncertainty around future funding."
— Newcastle City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Why This Matters For Section 58
To rely on the Section 58 defence, a council must show it had a reasonable system for knowing the condition of its roads. For Newcastle's unclassified network, ask:
- • When was your road last condition-surveyed — and was it in a survey year or a gap year?
- • If 28.9% of U-roads were RED at the last comparable survey, what was done about yours?
- • How does a biennial survey catch a pothole that formed 18 months after the last pass?
- • Can the council even compare its own 2024 condition records with anything before the Gaist switch?
A council that admits deteriorating assets, surveys three-quarters of its network every other year, and spends nothing preventatively cannot claim comprehensive knowledge of every defect.
The 2024 Survey Switch
Newcastle changed how it measures roads — and says the old and new data cannot be compared
"This data cannot be directly compared with historic data due to the change in the classification tier system."
— Newcastle City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
"Technical Survey provider changed from SCANNER, CVI/DVI Highway Condition Surveys to Gaist Condition Surveys with different assessment methodology in accordance with PAS 2161:2024 Guidance"
— Newcastle City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
What Changed
In 2024 Newcastle replaced SCANNER, CVI and DVI surveys with Gaist condition surveys under PAS 2161:2024. The council moved from a three-tier Red/Amber/Green system to a more detailed 1–5 classification — ahead of the DfT's mandatory switch in 2026/27.
Every 2024/25 condition figure in this report carries an asterisk for that reason.
What It Means For Claims
When a council cannot compare its own before-and-after condition data, it weakens any blanket argument that the network was adequately managed. The deterioration trend on comparable U-road data (14.17% → 28.9% RED) stands on its own.
The 2024/25 headline figures — 5.96% RED A-roads, 9.51% RED B/C roads — use a different ruler. Do not let the council cherry-pick them without acknowledging the methodology break.
79,247 Potholes in Five Years
The scale of reactive repair tells you how many defects this network produces
| Year | Potholes filled |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 15,240 |
| 2021/22 | 18,059 |
| 2022/23 | 12,834 |
| 2023/24 | 18,179 |
| 2024/25 | 14,935 |
| Five-year total | 79,247 |
~43 Potholes a Day, Every Day
Averaged over five years, Newcastle fills around 43 potholes per day. The council estimates 15,849 repairs for 2025/26 based on this five-year average. A network producing defects at that rate is, by definition, one where potholes routinely form between inspections — exactly the scenario where prior reports and photographic evidence decide claims.
Repairs ≠ Resurfacing
Filling 79,247 potholes in five years while resurfacing just 0.84% of the network in 2024/25 tells you where the money goes: reactive patches, not structural renewal. A filled pothole is evidence the road was failing — not evidence it was well maintained.
Claiming Against a Split-Score Council
Honest assessment: Newcastle funds its roads but manages them reactively — here's how that shapes your claim
What Works In The Council's Favour
- ✓ GREEN spend scorecard — meets or exceeds DfT capital allocation in most years
- ✓ Published Transport Asset Management Plan covering 2024–2039
- ✓ Gaist condition surveys under PAS 2161 — modern survey technology
- ✓ 63 planned maintenance schemes for 2025/26 including 15.3km resurfacing
- ✓ A and B/C roads broadly stable at 1–2% RED on comparable pre-2024 data
Expect a documented Section 58 defence on major classified roads. Generic claims will struggle.
What Works In Yours
- ✗ RED best practice — 0% preventative spend in every published year
- ✗ AMBER condition — U-roads in RED more than doubled to 28.9% on comparable data
- ✗ 74.5% of the network is U-roads — surveyed only every two years
- ✗ 79,247 potholes filled in five years — defects form faster than structural work
- ✗ Council admits "deteriorating assets" and reactive-only treatment model
- ✗ 2024 methodology change — council cannot compare its own historic condition data
The Winning Strategy Here Is Specificity
Against a council with GREEN spend but RED best practice, 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 biennial survey gap and 28.9% RED figure are your strongest structural arguments
- • Whether the council's 0% preventative spend undermines its claim of reasonable maintenance on your route
Mac builds exactly this case: he searches for prior reports, assesses your photo evidence, and cites Newcastle's own transparency data — including the RED best-practice rating and reactive-only spending — where it helps you.
Hit a Pothole in Newcastle?
A split-score council demands a precise claim. £35 for a professional claim pack.
DIY Claim
- • Submit photos and invoices
- • Use generic template letter
- • No RED best-practice argument
- • No U-road deterioration data
- • No prior-report search
Professional Claim Pack
- ✅ 0% preventative spend documented
- ✅ U-road RED doubling to 28.9% cited
- ✅ 79,247 potholes in five years referenced
- ✅ Prior reports searched and attached
- ✅ Section 58 rebuttal tailored to Newcastle
No percentage fees. You keep 100% of any compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Newcastle has a GREEN spend rating — can I still claim for pothole damage?
Yes. The DfT Spend scorecard is GREEN, but your claim turns on the specific defect and whether the council had reasonable knowledge of it under Section 58. Newcastle is AMBER overall for condition, RED for best practice, and its own report records 0% preventative spend and 100% reactive spend across every year published — meaning repairs happen after damage, not before.
What does Newcastle's RED best-practice rating mean for my claim?
The DfT Best Practice scorecard is RED — one of the weakest ratings a council can hold. Newcastle's transparency report shows 0% of highway spend classified as preventative in every year from 2020/21 to 2025/26, with 100% reactive. The council itself states works are "currently reactive treatments" and that implementing preventative programmes is only an "aspiration". That undercuts any Section 58 argument that the council proactively managed the road before your incident.
My pothole was on a residential street — does the U-road data help?
Unclassified roads make up 783.4km — 74.5% of Newcastle's 1,051.8km carriageway network. On comparable pre-2024 survey data, U-roads in RED condition rose from 14.17% in 2020/21 to 28.9% in 2023/24 — more than doubling in four years. The network is surveyed only once every two years, so a defect can form and worsen in the gap between surveys.
The 2024 condition figures look worse — are they reliable?
Treat 2024 separately. Newcastle switched survey provider from SCANNER/CVI/DVI to Gaist PAS 2161:2024 surveys in 2024, and the council states this data "cannot be directly compared with historic data due to the change in the classification tier system." The 2024 A-road RED figure of 5.96% and B/C RED of 9.51% use a different ruler — but the council's own admission that historic and current data are incomparable weakens any blanket Section 58 defence built on condition records.
Newcastle filled nearly 80,000 potholes in five years — does that mean the roads are fixed?
No. The council repaired 14,935 potholes in 2024/25 alone and 79,247 over five years — roughly 43 every day — while U-road RED condition doubled on comparable data and the council resurfaced just 0.84% of its road network in 2024/25. High repair volume is evidence of a network producing defects faster than structural maintenance can keep pace, not evidence your specific pothole was reasonably managed.
Data sources: Department for Transport — Local Road Maintenance Ratings 2025 to 2026 | Newcastle City Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report (June 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 AMBER; condition AMBER; spend GREEN; best practice RED.
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.