The move comes as the County Council has pledged to increase its focus on planned, preventative highway maintenance, building on a programme of works delivered over the spring and summer to repair and strengthen roads.
This week, the County Council's Cabinet agreed to intensify its campaign for a fairer share of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) revenues for Hampshire, arguing that councils responsible for maintaining local roads should receive a greater proportion of funding raised from motorists.
Cabinet Member for Highways, Councillor Steve Forster, said: "Maintaining Hampshire's roads remains one of our top priorities, and we are committed to doing all we can with the resources available to us. However, the scale of the challenge facing local highway authorities means long-term, sustainable Government funding is essential.
"We are calling for a fairer share of Vehicle Excise Duty for Hampshire and greater local flexibility over how funding is used, so we can target investment where it is needed most and make the best decisions for our residents and businesses.
"As the Government pursues its devolution agenda, there is growing recognition that decisions are often best made closest to the communities they affect. We would welcome the support of residents, businesses, community groups and Hampshire's MPs in making the case for increased investment in Hampshire's highways network and greater local control over how funding is spent locally."
Hampshire's local highway network continues to face increasing and unprecedented pressures from inflation, ageing infrastructure, growing traffic demand and more frequent severe weather events. The current maintenance backlog for Hampshire alone is estimated at between £550 million and £600 million. The local authority is responsible for around 5,500 miles of local roads and highway assets valued at around £17 billion making it one of the largest highways networks in the country.
An accelerated programme of highway maintenance has been delivered during spring and summer 2026 to address deterioration caused by the previous wet winter and subsequent periods of hot weather. Combined with the standard annual programme, this has delivered:
• 42 resurfacing schemes delivered since April as part of a total programme of 101 resurfacing schemes planned for 2026/27, with the remaining schemes currently in progress or scheduled for delivery – 26 of these were accelerated for delivery this summer. Resurfacing is one of the most effective forms of planned highway maintenance, replacing worn layers of the road and significantly improving its condition and longevity before more extensive and costly reconstruction is required.
• 122 surface treatment schemes completed, representing the substantial delivery of this year's programme. While resurfacing involves replacing layers of the road, surface dressing is a preventative treatment that seals and protects the existing surface, helping to prevent water ingress, improve skid resistance and prolong the life of the carriageway before more significant intervention is required.
• 17,590 reactive defects, including potholes, repaired between April and July 2026.
• 154 planned patching schemes have been completed across Hampshire as part of the accelerated programme, covering more than 32,000m² of carriageway. Patching involves targeted repairs to sections of road showing signs of deterioration, helping to strengthen the carriageway and prevent more extensive damage from developing. This work has been supported by additional resources and investment.
Councillor Forster added: "Our highways teams have been working throughout the spring and summer, making the most of longer days and favourable weather conditions to repair and strengthen roads across Hampshire. While we will always respond to issues such as potholes, we are increasing our focus on planned preventative maintenance wherever possible. Taking action earlier helps keep roads in better condition for longer and reduces the need for more costly repairs in the future.
"Residents can play an important role too by acting as extra eyes on the network and reporting potholes or other highway issues through the County Council's website or the OurHants app. This proactive reporting helps us identify problems early, target resources effectively and address issues before they become more serious and expensive to repair."
Report a highways issue online here.
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