Dudley Council's Labour opposition says Conservative leaders need to spend more on prevention as frustration over potholes ramps up
11:08, 14 Jan 2026Updated 11:21, 14 Jan 2026
Dudley Council is facing allegations of a 'lack of urgency' in how it deals with reports of potholes on borough roads.
The council, which has an amber rating from the government for its overall road maintenance performance, is responsible for 1,033km of highways including pothole repairs.
Statistics published by the Conservative-run authority says it filled 2,706 potholes on 2024/25 but Labour's deputy leader, Cllr Shaukat Ali, claims problems reported in his St Thomas's ward can take up to two months to be fixed.
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Cllr Ali said: "To acknowledge a dangerous pothole and then suggest people should wait months - or longer - for repairs is completely unacceptable."
In the 2025/26 year Dudley says it plans to spend £2.4m resurfacing 15.7km of road, £3m on reconstructing 12.1km of road, £150,000 to surface treat and protect 3.7km of highways and £500,000 on structural patching and planned maintenance.
The council's strategy revolves around a 'nighttime blitz' to repair defects on busy roads and daytime work on quieter routes which will cost around £1.3m and repair 30,000 square metres of potholes.
Cars have been clattering into the tarmac in Market Street in Stourbridge where a deep pothole formed on the road next to the council-run town hall.
A member of the public, who asked not to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "If people park opposite it, cars can't avoid it; it is about time something was done about it, it is affecting their own building."
A repair process has now begun on Market Street's defective surface but Labour is calling for more work on prevention rather than cures.
Council figures show in 2025/26 the authority will spend six percent of its highway maintenance budget on preventative maintenance and 22 percent on reactive maintenance.
Cllr Parmjit Sahota, shadow cabinet member for economy and infrastructure, said: "Residents don't need reports to tell them the roads are in poor condition - they see it every day.
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"What the data shows is that Dudley is falling behind its neighbours because the Conservative administration is failing to plan ahead.
"Instead of preventing problems, they are constantly playing catch-up."
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