How Oldham and Tameside councils are ranked in dealing with potholes

They are the source of frustration for many motorists across Greater Manchester and it’s the job of our councils to fix them.

Now transparency reports have been published by the government, giving each local authority ratings for how they deal with pesky potholes.  Local road maintenance ratings range from green (highest) through amber to red (lowest). They measure how well each local highway authority is maintaining its local roads and are based on three areas.

Categories include current condition of local roads; how much is spent on road maintenance; and how effectively councils follow best practice in highways maintenance. In the city-region, Manchester council spent the most money on their road maintenance at £25.514m between 2024 and 2025.

However, it was Salford council that filled the most potholes during that time period with an estimated 18,200 patched up.

Pictured above: Kerrera Drive in Salford, which is proposed to benefit from new funds to fix potholes.

Manchester and Wigan council were the only ones to get a green rating overall, with Bolton getting a red and the other seven councils getting amber ratings. Bolton council explained there was an error in the data they gave to the Department for Transport (DfT), resulting in this low rating.

Only 16 local authorities across the country received green ratings, with the majority receiving amber ratings. However, the idea behind the rating system is not to name and shame the councils, but to help the government identify where improvements and support are needed.

According to the DfT, local authorities with good local road condition, high adoption of best practice, and that invest significantly into maintaining their roads receive a green rating. Those where performance is more mixed or consistently weaker across these areas receive an amber or red rating.

To access all their £7.3bn of highways maintenance funding for the period of 2026/27 to 2029/30, local highway authorities will have to continue to publish reports on their roads maintenance work, so that these ratings can be updated and the government can assess how they comply with best practice in highways maintenance.

Oldham

Overall rating: Amber

Estimated potholes filled (2024/2025): 973
Money spent (2024/2025): £5.575m
Projected spend for 25/26: £5.66m

Coun Chris Goodwin, cabinet member for highways, said: “The Department for Transport’s Transparency Report rates Oldham as green for both road condition and spend, which shows that our highways are in good condition and that the council is making effective use of the funding available to us.
“While our score is lower in the Best Practice category, this is due to the long-standing national challenge of limited investment in highway maintenance.
“Despite receiving relatively limited funding, we have been doing the very best we can with the resources available, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Department for Transport and Transport for Greater Manchester to explore opportunities for increased investment in Oldham’s highways so we can build on this strong foundation and meet future demands.”
 

Tameside

Overall rating: Amber
Estimated potholes filled (2024/2025): 4,472
Money spent (2024/2025): £3.344m
Projected spend for 25/26: £4.974m

A Tameside Council Spokesperson said: “We recognise the importance of our highway infrastructure and how an effectively maintained and managed highway network is fundamental in supporting the local economy – fixing potholes is an important aspect of this.  
“We have a full maintenance programme underway and are also considering further investment to enable us to focus even more on preventative maintenance to improve the overall condition of the local road network.”