State of county roads in spotlight over red rating
BBCThe state of roads in Derbyshire, which was once labelled the "pothole capital of England", has been brought back into the spotlight.
The government recently published a new mapping tool and traffic light rating system for English councils so drivers can see how well local roads are managed.
Derbyshire, along with a dozen other local authorities, received a "red" rating based on the condition of its roads.
The rating has led some to criticise the Reform UK-led county council over the issue, but the BBC has found the issue is more complex.
What the data says
The government says the new ratings grade local highway authorities as red, amber or green based on three sets of criteria:
- Condition - the state of the local authority's roads
- Spend - how much is invested in highway maintenance
- Best practice - how closely the authority follows recommended maintenance standards
The council is then rated overall, based on all three aspects.
Derbyshire was given a red rating based on its "current road condition", according to the government.
This is predominantly based on the latest data in Derbyshire's transparency report, which points to 28% of A-roads in red (poor) condition, 38% of B/C roads and 36% of U-roads.
However, this data is up to 2024, so it is difficult to judge the current state of the roads by these metrics.
The Department for Transport told the BBC it is "categorically untrue" it "mishandled or ignored" data, as some opponents claimed.
But it is accurate to say the data is old.
Labour representatives in Derbyshire said in a press release that Reform's failure to "get a grip of the problem" was "shameful".
Erewash's Labour MP Adam Thompson said the figures showed up Reform UK's "bragging" about their handling of the pothole problem.
But Labour MP for South Derbyshire, Samantha Niblett, amended her initial social media post on Sunday, stating it painted a more nuanced picture than initially claimed.
She wrote: "The data for this covers a period of time before Reform took over."
Reform UK won control of Derbyshire County Council in May 2025, replacing the Conservatives, but did not have a fully formed administration in place until about June.
Elsewhere in the data, Derbyshire scored "amber" under the "spend" and "best practice" scorecards, seemingly the most common score among all England's 154 local highways authorities listed.
The Department for Transport said the data for these amber-rated metrics came from 2025-26.
However, it is the case that this data is among the best we have for getting a general idea of what the roads are like locally.
The number of A-roads in Derbyshire considered to be in good condition has halved since 2020.
The number of B and C roads in good condition stood at 7% in 2024, down from 52% in 2020.
In the past, Derbyshire leaders have also disputed the claim the county is England's "pothole capital", given it generally uses different methodology to other councils to count potholes, which skews results in comparison to others.
The Department for Transport acknowledged this in its recent data sets, saying Derbyshire is difficult to compare to other authorities and caution should be exercised.
However, it told the BBC the council is breaching government guidelines by using an alternative method to classify its roads.
What are people saying?
Reform UK in Derbyshire has been dismissive of the data, given it does not cover its period in power.
"While we had a Conservative government and a Conservative Derbyshire, they should have been working hand-in-hand to stop the significant underfunding that we have seen for the past number of years," said Charlotte Hill, Reform's lead councillor for highways in Derbyshire.
"They were doing temporary repairs and they weren't investing in pothole repairs properly."
Hill added 28,000 potholes had now been filled across the county, with 18,000 of those being from a backlog.
The leader of the Conservatives in Derbyshire, Alex Dale, claimed Reform was not filling in potholes at the rate his party did, but acknowledged his party had difficulties managing the roads when in charge.
"We don't dispute that the roads in Derbyshire have been in a very difficult position for quite a few years now," he said.
"As a Conservative administration, over the last four years we put record investment into resurfacing schemes.
"But we acknowledge that that wasn't enough and what we were also doing at the same time was lobbying the government for additional funding.
"My understanding though is that only a third of [the latest] red flag rating is based on previous condition and the other two-thirds is based on future plan. So that does suggest that the new Reform administration is as culpable."
What next?
Department of Transport officials met Derbyshire leaders on Monday to discuss the rating and to set out what support it will provide to improve it.
The government said councils currently rated red would receive "dedicated support".
That will include "expert-led peer reviews to help authorities strengthen processes, with practical advice and training".
An example of this training could be on preventative maintenance to prevent a cycle of endlessly filling in reoccurring potholes.
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