I thought it may help to explain how we maintain our highways in the borough.
Each year a report comes to my decision session as Cabinet Member for Environment and Infrastructure. This years report is at my decision session next Tuesday, 10 February and can be found here (Highways Asset Management and Service Priorities 2026/27 financial year – agenda item 4, including appendices): Agenda for CPH Environment and Infrastructure Decision Session on Tuesday 10th February 2026, 6.00 pm | Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
At the outset I must highlight that our funding for highways from central government is far lower than other local authorities in the West Midlands. In Solihull our highways maintenance revenue budgets have declined from c.£3.3million to c.£2.4million in 2024/25. Despite this reduction, the need for resurfacing remains high and the value of schemes on the programme continues to significantly exceed the available budget, with the current total estimated value of resurfacing required exceeding £52million – to get the roads back up to the standard we would like.
In the 2025/26 financial year the council repaired approximately 27km of roads, cleansing of 47,957 gullies, inspected 117 bridges, undertook 1.3km of footway surfacing treatments, replaced 461 lamp columns, installed approximately 7,500 Street lighting central management system (CMS) nodes, upgraded six traffic signal installations, and repaired of 1,850 potholes.
I have posted a link to a You Tube video that explains the system the council adopts for pothole repairs, explaining the different time scales, dependent on the severity of the issue. The video is two minutes in length: How do our Potholes Get Repaired?
It is important we all report potholes when we come across them. We can do this via this link to the councils webpage: Report a pothole
Ken Hawkins 
Hi Ken,
As always, many thanks for keeping us so well informed. Much as I appreciate the desire for net zero – i.e. much of which is all of us driving EV’s. Just tax them on an appropriate basis for using the roads. They weigh much more than conventional cars and as such (particularly in winter conditions) cause much more damage to the roads.
Problem with that is central government wouldn’t give you the money generated to repair the roads. They’d use it to fund their disconnected agenda in areas that do not benefit the local or for that matter the national INDIGINIOS population!
God alone knows what the (bankrupt) Birmingham City Council are doing. I had to go to my dentist in Springfield the other day and had to drive down the Stratford Road through Hall Green. The Stratford Road there is almost impossible to drive through. The pot holes are the worst I have ever seen on a major road. Not just damned inconvenient, but dangerous. If you get the opportunity, go and have a look. No one would complain about the state of the roads here.
Take care
All the best
Paul Askill
Berkeley De Vere (EC) Ltd
Falcon House
Oxhill Road
Shirley
Solihull
West Midlands
B90 1LR
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