North Northamptonshire Council has approved the creation of a cross‑party working group to scrutinise the performance of its highways contractor after councillors raised concerns about widespread road damage and shortcomings in contract management.
Why the review has been launched
The decision followed a joint meeting of the authority’s corporate and place & environment scrutiny committees on 15 July, where councillors reviewed the council’s strategic approach to potholes and highways maintenance. The move comes after the council extended its existing highways contract with contractor Kier by a further year; the agreement now runs to at least 2030.
“The wettest start to a new year for decades ... turned our highways into swiss cheese at a level unprecedented in our recent history.”
The executive member for highways told councillors the scale of damage seen over the winter was exceptional and has prompted closer examination of how the contract is being managed and delivered.
Performance figures and concerns
At the meeting members heard a series of performance measures that have caused alarm. A public speaker highlighted that in March only 44% of customer reports to the highways service were acknowledged and inspected, and that response times for lower‑risk defects (Priority 3 and 4) met the contractual timescales in just 65% of cases. The council described these outcomes as below the expected standard.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Customer reports acknowledged/inspected (March) | 44% |
| Priority 3 and 4 defects on time (March) | 65% |
| Estimated cost to bring all roads to decent standard | £380m |
| This year’s highways budget | £18m |
Council officers explained that a recently adopted operational method — described as a “leave no defect behind” approach, which prioritises larger, widescale repairs to reduce repeat visits — has affected some metrics while improving output.
- Daily productivity reportedly rose by 153% between January and June.
- Total output increased by 105% in the same period.
- The working group will review contract management, inspection rates and response performance.
What this means for residents
Councillors said bringing the county’s roads up to a broadly acceptable standard would carry a multi‑million pound price tag — figures presented at the meeting put the total need at around £380m, compared with the council’s current highways budget of £18m this year. That gap underlines the long‑term financial challenge facing the authority when balancing urgent repairs with planned maintenance.
The new cross‑party group will be councillor‑led and is expected to examine how the contract is being monitored, whether current operational practices strike the right balance between efficiency and customer service, and what further steps the council should take to improve performance for road users.
Details of the group’s membership and timetable for reporting back to scrutiny committees have yet to be published.
