Stone depot among bases for extra pothole repair crews

Extra highways crews are being brought in to help repair potholes and other road defects across Staffordshire this summer, with Stone among the county council depot bases involved.

Staffordshire County Council says 14 extra crews will be up and running by the end of June. They will be based across the authority’s four highways depots at Leek, Lichfield, Gailey and Stone.

The crews will work alongside the county council’s regular highways teams, with the authority aiming to repair more potholes than ever before by the end of March 2027, weather permitting.

The work is part of an extra £15 million investment in highways over the next two years. The money is intended to tackle the backlog of lower level potholes, which do not present serious safety issues requiring urgent repair, but still need to be fixed.

The funding will also support different methods of repair, including screeding and velocity patching, so crews can use equipment suited to the type and location of each defect.

Cllr Patrick Allen, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet support member for highways north, said

“It’s great to see these new crews up and running, and they will make a real difference to local communities. Our hope is that in the coming months, residents will see an improvement on the roads, with many of those lower-level potholes that have perhaps been there for some time, finally fixed.

“Added to this, we are investing in new machinery and new ways of working, to ensure our crews have everything they need to get on with the job of fixing, and are working as efficiently as possible. Looking after some 4,000 miles of highway network is no easy task, but by getting more boots on the ground and having more ways to repair different types of defects, residents should really start to see smoother journeys across the county in the coming weeks and months.”

Crews are expected to be working through the summer and into the autumn.

Residents can report potholes and other highways issues through Staffordshire County Council’s ReportIt webpage.