UK councils admit condition of major roads has dropped

A “red” road is considered to be poor and should be considered for maintenance, while other roads can be ranked as “amber” or “green”.

In total, 147 local authorities reported data on the condition of A roads in the years ending March 2024 and March 2026.

Some of these roads (45 per cent) saw a rise in the proportion of A roads deemed to be “red”, while 53 (36 per cent) saw no change and 28 (19 per cent) fell.

Brighton and Hove recorded the highest figure in the year to March 2026, with 17 per cent of A roads classed as “red”.

This was followed by Nottingham (15 per cent), Brent in London (14 per cent), Salford (13 per cent) and North Tyneside (13 per cent).

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “This data confirms what so many road users will have observed on a daily basis for years – that far too many roads are in a poor condition, leading to uncomfortable journeys and costly repair bills.”

Major roads classed as red in the year to March 2026 (compared to the year to March 2024)

Regions marked with an * used an alternative measuring method

Brighton & Hove* 17% (18%)

Nottingham* 15% (19%)

Brent 14% (11%)

North Tyneside* 13% (14%)

Salford* 13% (6%)

Ealing 12% (8%)

Newham 12% (10%)

Barking & Dagenham 11% (6%)

Hackney 11% (13%)

Barnet 10% (6%)

Bristol* 10% (9%)

Islington 10% (9%)

Shropshire* 10% (9%)

Calderdale* 9% (4%)

Camden 9% (9%)

Croydon 9% (7%)

Redbridge 9% (7%)

Richmond upon Thames 9% (7%)

Southwark 9% (7%)

Wandsworth 9% (6%)

Derby* 8% (9%)

Greenwich 8% (6%)

Hammersmith & Fulham 8% (5%)

Lambeth 8% (6%)

Southend-on-Sea* 8% (9%)

Tower Hamlets 8% (7%)

City of London 7% (7%)

Enfield 7% (4%)

Harrow 7% (4%)

Kent 7% (6%)

Lewisham 7% (6%)

Manchester* 7% (6%)

Norfolk 7% (4%)

Sutton 7% (3%)

Waltham Forest 7% (5%)

Bradford* 6% (6%)

Derbyshire* 6% (28%)

Haringey 6% (4%)

Havering 6% (4%)

Kingston upon Thames 6% (3%)

Merton 6% (4%)

Newcastle upon Tyne* 6% (6%)

Oxfordshire 6% (5%)

St Helens* 6% (6%)

Suffolk 6% (3%)

Telford & Wrekin* 6% (7%)

Westminster 6% (5%)

Windsor & Maidenhead 6% (3%)

Bath & North East Somerset* 5% (5%)

Bexley 5% (4%)

Bracknell Forest 5% (7%)

Bromley 5% (2%)

Bury 5% (6%)

Darlington* 5% (7%)

East Sussex 5% (4%)

Hampshire 5% (4%)

Herefordshire 5% (5%)

Kirklees 5% (5%)

Liverpool* 5% (10%)

Luton* 5% (5%)

Medway 5% (2%)

Reading 5% (7%)

Southampton* 5% (5%)

Stockport* 5% (4%)

Surrey 5% (4%)

Trafford 5% (5%)

West Sussex 5% (6%)

Wigan* 5% (2%)

Wirral* 5% (4%)

Blackburn with Darwen* 4% (5%)

Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 4% (3%)

Buckinghamshire 4% (4%)

Cheshire East 4% (3%)

Essex 4% (3%)

Hillingdon 4% (2%)

Kensington & Chelsea 4% (4%)

Knowsley* 4% (4%)

Lancashire 4% (2%)

Leicester 4% (4%)

Nottinghamshire* 4% (3%)

Oldham* 4% (4%)

Rochdale 4% (4%)

Somerset 4% (2%)

Warwickshire 4% (4%)

West Berkshire 4% (3%)

Westmorland & Furness 4% (4%)

Wiltshire 4% (4%)

Blackpool* 3% (4%)

Cambridgeshire 3% (6%)

County Durham 3% (3%)

Devon 3% (2%)

Doncaster 3% (3%)

Dorset* 3% (2%)

Hartlepool 3% (3%)

Hertfordshire 3% (3%)

Hounslow 3% (2%)

Leicestershire 3% (3%)

Lincolnshire 3% (2%)

North Lincolnshire 3% (3%)

North Northamptonshire* 3% (3%)

Northumberland 3% (2%)

Plymouth 3% (2%)

Rutland 3% (3%)

Sefton 3% (3%)

Solihull 3% (3%)

South Gloucestershire 3% (3%)

South Tyneside 3% (2%)

Staffordshire* 3% (3%)

Thurrock 3% (7%)

Torbay 3% (3%)

West Northamptonshire* 3% (4%)

Wokingham 3% (3%)

Wolverhampton 3% (2%)

Barnsley 2% (3%)

Bedford 2% (1%)

Birmingham* 2% (6%)

Bolton 2% (2%)

Central Bedfordshire 2% (2%)

Cornwall 2% (1%)

Coventry 2% (2%)

Cumberland 2% (2%)

Gateshead 2% (1%)

Isle of Wight 2% (2%)

Kingston upon Hull 2% (2%)

North East Lincolnshire 2% (2%)

North Somerset 2% (1%)

North Yorkshire* 2% (3%)

Portsmouth 2% (2%)

Redcar & Cleveland* 2% (1%)

Rotherham 2% (3%)

Sandwell 2% (2%)

Swindon 2% (3%)

Wakefield 2% (3%)

Warrington 2% (1%)

York 2% (2%)

Cheshire West & Chester* 1% (1%)

Dudley 1% (2%)

East Riding of Yorkshire 1% (2%)

Gloucestershire 1% (1%)

Halton 1% (1%)

Milton Keynes 1% (1%)

Peterborough 1% (1%)

Sheffield 1% (1%)

Stockton-on-Tees 1% (1%)

Sunderland 1% (1%)

Walsall 1% (1%)

Middlesbrough 0% (1%)