- Locations: Bromley and Sutton roads
- Issue: Troublesome potholes affecting drivers
- Advice: Exercise extra care always
- Risk: Potential vehicle damage from holes
- Context: Urgent warning for road users
This is based on a list of badly maintained roads released over the weekend by the Department for Transport, which rated the state of the roads in the south London boroughs of Bromley and Sutton as “Red.”
Croydon received an overall “Amber” rating (with “Green” on the DfT’s spending scorecard), which may come as a surprise to many bikers and drivers who are aware of the bad condition of their local roads.
More than 150 traffic authorities in England received their red, amber, and green ratings last night.
According to the DfT, the ratings are determined by three factors: the state of local roads, the amount of money councils spend on road maintenance, and whether or not they are adhering to best practices for highway upkeep.
“To boost standards, highways authorities currently rated red will receive dedicated support to bring them in line with best practices, backed by £300,000 worth of expert planning and capability assistance,”
the DfT said.
Their DfT ratings carry a caveat:
“The overall rating and best practice and condition scorecards for this local highway authority are based on incomplete road condition data, which has affected these ratings, and how their best practice scorecard was calculated.”
The road conditions in five other London boroughs Brent (Labour), Greenwich (Labour), Kingston (Liberal Democrat), Enfield (Labour), and Waltham Forest (Labour) were classified “Red.”
An overall “Amber” rating was given to Transport for London, which is in charge of maintaining the major thoroughfares in the capital.
In response to the ratings, a few London councils called the DfT’s conclusions “baffling” and expressed “disappointment that they have published it without showing us their workings out.”
Less than 5% of the ÂŁ24.5 million spent nationwide on road repairs goes to London’s boroughs.
According to the government, London municipalities are now receiving ÂŁ300 million in funds to repair their roads.
This is a portion of the ÂŁ7.3 billion allocated nationwide to address what the DfT refers to as a “pothole plague,” in which thousands of drivers are requesting reimbursement from local governments for car damage.
Transport for London paid ÂŁ2 million in compensation in 2025 for road damage brought on by potholes.
“For too long drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate,” said Heidi Alexander, the transport minister.
I have heard time and again their frustration on footing the bill because they hit a pothole – money they should never have to spend in the first place.
We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3billion to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for.
Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely, and for the first time we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area.”
According to Alexander, filling a pot hole costs ÂŁ70.
The government gave Croydon Council, led by Tory Mayor Jason Perry, £1.24 million for road maintenance in 2025–2026. Lambeth received £585,000, Southwark received £514,000, Merton received £606,000, Sutton received £749,000, and Bromley received £1.48 million.
“We welcome this government initiative to hold local highways authorities to account which should help to promote the Pothole Partnership objective of more proactive and permanent repairs,”
said Edmund King, the president of the AA and founding member of the Pothole Partnership.
Fixing potholes is the top priority for 96% of AA members, according to King.
And Caroline Julian, of British Cycling, said:
“For cyclists, potholes are far more than an annoyance. One unexpected impact can cause a serious crash, life-changing injury or a fatality.
Safe riding depends on safe roads, and a smooth, well-maintained surface isn’t a luxury for cyclists, it’s essential for their safety.”
What funding is allocated for Bromley highway repairs this year?
Bromley Council’s 2026 roadways conservation backing lacks precise public exposure amid ongoing tender processes for a decade-long contract covering 842 km of carriageways.
The government’s ÂŁ7.3 billion roadways block( 2026- 2030) distributes via birth/ incitement formulas to London megalopolises, though Bromley-specific 2026/27 numbers remain unpublished unlike Greenwich(ÂŁ2.6 m aggregate) or near Hackney(ÂŁ1.25 m).
Bromley entered ÂŁ455k HS2- reallocated finances in2023/24-20 24/25, ÂŁ1.48 m pothole allocation( 2025), and ÂŁ910k over two previous times patterns suggesting 1- 2m annually from DfT/ TfL, stoked by original budgets during the June 2026- 2036 procurement.
