Pothole red rating disappointing, councils say
PA MediaCumbria's two local authorities received the lowest rating for repairing potholes under a new system published by the government.
The Department for Transport (DfT) tool will allow drivers in England to see how councils are maintaining roads in their area.
Both Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumberland Council were among 13 highways authorities in England to be marked red.
Westmorland and Furness said the scale, rural location and historic assets of the area's road network made maintenance "uniquely challenging", while Cumberland Council called the rating "disappointing" and said it was already working to improve.
The system gives local authority areas a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of roads and how effectively councils are spending government funding to carry out repairs.
The DfT rated 154 local highways authorities in England. The vast majority were rated as amber, meaning they were patching up roads and had preventative measures in place, but there was still room for improvement.
Councils rated red will receive extra support, with the government saying it will allocate £300,000 for "expert planning and capability assistance".
Liberal Democrat Peter Thornton, whose brief oversees highways for Westmorland and Furness, said the rating "does not reflect the overall performance of our rural authority."
"Historic under investment has meant that councils have not necessarily had the resources to maintain roads in the way that they would want to," he said.
Labour's Denise Rollo, who is Cumberland Council's highways lead, said the council was confident it would progress quickly on the required improvements.
"It is important to note that for each individual category - road condition, capital spend, and best practice - our rating is amber," she added.
"Since this announcement, we have already held meetings with ministers and officials to understand the methodology behind the overall rating and to identify steps for improvement.
"A lower result does not necessarily reflect a lack of strategy and ambition."
