Cambridgeshire Council Reports Major Improvements in Highway Maintenance and Investment

Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee has reviewed recent progress in the county’s highway maintenance programme, highlighting a series of improvements achieved over the past year.

In response to a Department for Transport (DfT) request earlier this year, the council prepared a detailed transparency report outlining its maintenance activities to support additional funding allocations.

Key findings from the report include:

• A £35 million increase in capital spending on highways maintenance since 2023/24, rising from £24 million to £59 million.

• A total of £73 million allocated for 2025/26, including both capital and revenue funding.

• An average of 55,400 pothole repairs completed each year over the past five years.

  
  

By the end of October, the council will submit further data on asset values and compliance with national best practice standards as part of the DfT’s funding requirements.

Committee members heard that investments are increasingly being guided by community feedback, with a renewed emphasis on resident engagement. A new digital system is also being introduced to improve communication with the public and streamline reporting of highway issues.

The meeting also reviewed results from the council’s Quality of Life survey, the National Highways and Transport (NHT) public satisfaction survey, and detailed figures on pothole repairs and safety inspections. This data is being used to target funding where it will have the greatest impact.

Another key topic discussed was the approval of the new Public Rights of Way (PRoW) hierarchy, which identifies priority walking and cycling routes across the county. From next year, top-tier routes—particularly those near schools—will receive annual inspections, expanding coverage by an additional 160 km.

Councillor Alex Beckett, Chair of the Highways and Transport Committee, said:

“Improving our county’s roads, cycleways and footpaths is vital for all of us. While satisfaction with roads and pavements has increased by seven percentage points over the past year, we know there’s still more to do to address the historic backlog. We’re investing record amounts to make that happen.”

He added:

“I’m especially proud that Cambridgeshire has developed the country’s first active travel and public rights of way maintenance hierarchy. This ensures we make the right repairs in the right places for the right users—showing how Cambridgeshire continues to lead the way.”