Source
Department for Transport — Local road maintenance ratings 2025 to 2026
greenOverall|green Conditionamber Spendgreen Best Practice
Wiltshire: Green-Rated, Still Filling Thousands of Potholes
DfT rates Wiltshire GREEN overall — one of only 16 authorities in England at that level. Yet the Spend scorecard is AMBER, the council repaired 14,758 reported potholes in 2024/25, and half of each road class is condition-surveyed on a rolling basis across 4,554km of network.
14,758
Reported potholes repaired in 2024/25
Despite a GREEN DfT rating, Wiltshire still ran a large reactive repair programme — and B/C roads in RED condition rose to 4% in the latest DfT condition return.
The DfT's Verdict — And The Amber Spend Asterisk
Official 2025/26 scorecards from the Department for Transport
| Metric | Performance | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | — | green |
| Road Condition | A 79.5% · B&C 78% · U 94% good | green |
| Spend | Capital spend score 78.3 vs assessed need | amber |
| Best Practice | Preventative spend score 100 · treatment score 57.5 | green |
What GREEN means: Wiltshire is in the top tier nationally — 79.5% of A-roads, 78% of B&C roads and 94% of U-roads score as "good" in the DfT condition metrics that feed these ratings. The council publishes asset-management data, runs SCANNER surveys and has invested in preventative kit including Bobcat permanent-repair machines.
What AMBER Spend means: The Spend scorecard is not a claim that Wiltshire ignores maintenance — the DfT capital spend score is 78.3 against assessed network need, with a preventative spend score of 100. AMBER reflects how capital maintenance spend compares with modelled need. For your claim, the Spend label matters less than whether the specific defect was inspected and repaired in time.
4,554 Kilometres — Mostly C and U Roads
Network size from Wiltshire Council's published highways maintenance disclosure
| Road class | Length (miles) | Length (km, approx.) | Share of network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principal A roads | 356 | 573 | 12.5% |
| B roads | 201 | 323 | 7.1% |
| C roads | 1,042 | 1,677 | 36.6% |
| Unclassified roads | 1,251 | 2,013 | 43.9% |
| Total | 2,850 | 4,554 | 100% |
"The local highway network in Wiltshire comprises over 2,800 miles (4,554 kilometres) of road."
— Wiltshire Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Most pothole damage claims occur on C and unclassified roads — together roughly 80% of Wiltshire's network. A GREEN network rating does not mean your residential street was recently condition-surveyed.
What The Condition Data Still Shows
Five years of DfT SCANNER condition returns (red / amber / green %) submitted by Wiltshire Council
A-roads: broadly stable, slight RED uptick at the margin
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 5% | 27% | 68% |
| 2021/22 | 4% | 27% | 69% |
| 2022/23 | 5% | 29% | 66% |
| 2023/24 and 2024/25 A-road RAG percentages not published in the latest DfT RDC0122 return | |||
B and C roads (2,000km — 44% of network): RED share rising
| Year | Red | Amber | Green |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 2% | 22% | 75% |
| 2021/22 | 3% | 23% | 74% |
| 2022/23 | 3% | 24% | 73% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 25% | 71% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 26% | 70% |
B/C roads in RED condition doubled from 2% to 4% since 2020/21, while green B/C roads fell from 75% to 70%. Still better than many councils — but not a zero-defect network.
Unclassified roads — RED condition (DfT returns)
—
2020/21
not reported
—
2021/22
not reported
3%
2022/23
3%
2023/24
3%
2024/25
At 3% RED, roughly 60km of U-roads were in the worst condition band in recent years — low nationally, but not zero. DfT U-road returns report RED share only; the 94% "good" figure in the scorecard is a separate composite metric.
The 50% Rolling Survey Cycle
How Wiltshire says it knows the condition of its roads — and where the gaps are
| Road class | Condition survey coverage | Safety inspections |
|---|---|---|
| A roads | 50% of network in both directions, alternating each year | Monthly safety inspections |
| B roads | 100% in one direction | Monthly safety inspections |
| C roads | 50% in one direction | Annual on residential streets |
| Unclassified roads | 50% surveyed per year | Annual on residential streets |
Not Every Survey Vehicle Has SCANNER
Wiltshire confirmed to its Environment Select Committee that not all vehicles carry vehicle-mounted lasers for SCANNER surveys — fleet replacement is under review. Condition knowledge on parts of the network therefore relies on visual inspection and a road condition index, not continuous laser scanning.
Why This Matters For Section 58
On a U-road surveyed only every other year, ask: was your road in the surveyed half? When was the last SCANNER or condition pass before your incident? Monthly safety inspections on A and B roads look for reportable defects — but the standard for "reasonable" knowledge is tighter when network-level data admits partial coverage across 2,013km of U-roads.
"Planned interventions are based on surveyed need with works taking place in accordance with Asset Management principles after analysis of robust and consistently collected data."
— Wiltshire Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Reactive Reality — Thousands of Repairs Every Year
Reported pothole repairs and reactive spend from the council's published highways data
| Year | Reported potholes repaired | Pothole repair spend |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | Not separately published | £18,797,627 |
| 2023/24 | 14,891 | £23,225,866 |
| 2024/25 | 14,758 | £34,893,749 |
GREEN Does Not Mean Zero Potholes
Wiltshire repaired nearly 15,000 reported potholes in each of the last two published years while earning a GREEN condition scorecard. Reactive spend rose 50% in one year (£23.2m → £34.9m). That is a council working hard — and a network still producing defects at scale.
Preventative Kit — Not Zero Defects
Wiltshire's ESC highways report documents preventative Bobcat surfacing in 2024/25 — permanent-repair machinery deployed alongside traditional pothole gangs. That supports the GREEN best-practice scorecard. It does not mean every defect on your road was caught before it damaged your vehicle.
Following The Money
DfT allocation versus council investment — and why Spend is still AMBER
£32.283m
DfT capital allocation 2025/26
£23.6m baseline + £8.683m new funding
£20.7m
DfT Highways Maintenance fund 2024/25
Plus £5.2m Road Resurfacing Fund
78.3
DfT capital spend score (vs need)
Spend scorecard: AMBER
2025/26 Planned Treatments (projected)
51km
Carriageway resurfacing planned
89km
Preventative surface treatments planned
On a 4,554km network, 51km of resurfacing is roughly 1.1% of the network per year — preventative treatment at 89km is about 2.0%. GREEN best-practice scores reflect process quality; they do not mean every road is rebuilt on a short cycle.
"All community areas have received a level of expenditure through both planned and reactive works."
— Wiltshire Council Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
Claiming Against a GREEN-Rated Council
What Works In The Council's Favour
- ✓ GREEN overall, condition and best-practice scorecards — top tier nationally
- ✓ 94% of U-roads and 78%+ of classified roads rated "good" in DfT metrics
- ✓ Documented asset-management approach, HIAMS records and SCANNER surveys
- ✓ Preventative Bobcat surfacing documented in 2024/25 ESC highways reporting
Expect a well-documented Section 58 defence. Generic "the council doesn't maintain its roads" arguments will fail.
What Works In Yours
- ✗ AMBER Spend scorecard — capital spend below modelled need despite extra investment
- ✗ B/C RED condition doubled to 4%; green B/C roads fell from 75% to 70% since 2020/21
- ✗ 50% rolling survey on A, C and U roads — half the network may lack recent condition data
- ✗ ~15,000 reported pothole repairs per year and £34.9m reactive spend in 2024/25
- ✗ Council acknowledges expenditure varies by area — not uniform coverage everywhere
The Winning Strategy Here Is Specificity
Against a GREEN-rated council, your claim lives or dies on the specific defect:
- • Prior reports of the same pothole (MyWilts, FixMyStreet) — proof of actual notice
- • Photos showing defect size, depth and visible age (weathered edges, previous patching)
- • Road class — on a U-road, the 50% alternate-year survey gap is your strongest structural argument
- • Whether the defect met Wiltshire's published intervention criteria before your incident
Mac builds exactly this case: he searches for prior reports, assesses your photo evidence, and cites Wiltshire's own published highways data where it helps you — without pretending a GREEN scorecard makes your pothole disappear.
Section 41 and Section 58 — The Legal Frame
How Wiltshire's GREEN rating interacts with highways liability law
Section 41 — The Duty
Wiltshire must maintain highways reasonably safe for ordinary traffic. A GREEN DfT rating is evidence they take that duty seriously at network level. It is not a certificate that every carriageway met the standard on the day you hit a pothole.
Section 58 — The Defence
To defeat your claim, Wiltshire must show it had a reasonable system for inspecting and repairing the road. GREEN best-practice and condition scorecards strengthen that defence — but partial survey coverage, rising B/C RED shares and 14,758 reactive repairs in a single year all give you factual hooks to argue the specific defect fell through the system.
Questions Worth Asking About Your Defect
- • Did the pothole meet Wiltshire's own intervention criteria before your incident?
- • Was it reported through MyWilts or FixMyStreet before you hit it?
- • Was your road in the surveyed 50% that year — or the blind half of the rolling cycle?
- • Was the defect reported before your incident — and if so, what does the repair record show?
- • Was the repair a permanent fix or a patch that failed — relevant to recurring defects?
Hit a Pothole in Wiltshire?
A GREEN-rated council demands a precise claim. £35 for a professional claim pack.
DIY Claim
- • Submit photos and invoices
- • Use a generic template letter
- • No rolling 50% survey-gap argument
- • No prior MyWilts / FixMyStreet search
- • No B/C RED trend or spend context
Professional Claim Pack
- ✅ Acknowledges GREEN rating — no baseless accusations
- ✅ Cites 14,758 repairs and AMBER spend context
- ✅ Argues 50% survey gap on U-roads where relevant
- ✅ Prior reports searched and attached
- ✅ Section 58 rebuttal tailored to Wiltshire
No percentage fees. You keep 100% of any compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Wiltshire's GREEN rating mean my pothole claim will fail?
No. GREEN means Wiltshire performs above average on network condition and best practice — it does not mean every road is defect-free. The council repaired 14,758 reported potholes in 2024/25, B and C roads in RED condition rose to 4% in 2024/25, and half of each road class is condition-surveyed on a rolling basis. Section 58 turns on whether the specific defect that damaged your vehicle was reasonably inspected and repaired, not on a network-level scorecard.
What does the AMBER spend scorecard mean if Wiltshire invests extra money?
The DfT Spend scorecard is AMBER despite council statements about additional highways investment. That reflects how Wiltshire's capital maintenance spend compares with assessed network need — not whether it fills potholes. For 2025/26 the DfT capital allocation is £32.283 million. Your claim still hinges on the specific defect, inspection records and repair history, not aggregate spend labels.
What if my pothole was on an unclassified road?
Unclassified roads make up roughly 1,251 miles — about 44% of Wiltshire's 4,554km network. The council's published survey regime covers 50% of U-roads in a given year, with A-roads also surveyed on a 50% alternating-year basis. DfT road-condition returns show U-roads in RED condition at 3% in recent years — low by national standards, but that still represents dozens of kilometres needing maintenance, and a defect on your street is not disproved by a green network rating.
Wiltshire repaired 14,758 potholes in 2024/25 — does that mean the roads are fixed?
No. Reported pothole repairs measure reactive work on defects the council knew about — not proof that preventative maintenance prevented the pothole that damaged your car. B/C roads in RED condition ticked up from 2% to 4% between 2020/21 and 2024/25 in DfT condition returns, and the council spent £34.9 million on pothole-related repairs in 2024/25 according to its published figures. A high repair count is evidence of ongoing defect formation, not elimination.
How does Wiltshire's Section 58 defence work with a GREEN rating?
Wiltshire can point to GREEN condition and best-practice scorecards, SCANNER surveys, HIAMS asset records and a stated asset-management approach. That makes generic "the council doesn't maintain its roads" arguments weak. Your claim is stronger when you show the specific defect met intervention criteria, was reported before your damage (or should have been found on inspection), and sat on a road class with a known survey gap or rising RED-condition trend on that classification.
Does Wiltshire survey every road every year?
No. Environment Select Committee minutes state the council condition-surveys 50% of principal A, C and U roads in a given year on a rolling basis. DfT U-road condition returns show 3% of unclassified roads in RED condition in recent years — a low network share, but that still represents dozens of kilometres needing maintenance, and a defect on your street is not disproved by a green network rating.
Data sources: Department for Transport — Local Road Maintenance Ratings 2025 to 2026 | Wiltshire 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 GREEN; spend AMBER; 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.