Hampshire’s roads are taking a battering — and residents are absolutely right to be frustrated.

After weeks of relentless rain, potholes are appearing faster than crews can fill them.

I see the same craters, cracks and debris that residents do. Some defects emerge overnight; others deteriorate within hours.

This winter has been one of the worst in years, with January delivering 156 percent of its average rainfall and February surpassing its monthly norm in the first week alone.

But behind every complaint lies a stark, unavoidable truth: there simply isn’t enough money to maintain Hampshire’s 5,500‑mile road network to the standard we all expect.

To bring our roads up to the condition I would want would cost around £600 million. Our highways budget this year is £60 million. No amount of efficiency, innovation or goodwill can bridge a £540 million gap.

The pressures on essential, legally mandated services have grown dramatically in recent years. By 2030, nearly 5 percent of Hampshire’s population will be over 80. We have more children with Special Educational Needs than the national average. Demand for disability support continues to rise. These services must be provided by law, and their costs are increasing far faster than councils can raise revenue.

Council tax comparisons tell their own story. A Band D household in Hampshire pays £1,609 to the county council. In Surrey, it’s £1,846. In West Sussex, £1,800. In Oxfordshire, £1,911. Hampshire residents have benefitted from lower council tax for years — but lower tax inevitably means less money for services, and highways is one of the areas that suffers.

Even if we raised council tax to the maximum allowed every year, it would not come close to covering the rising cost of care. This isn’t mismanagement; it’s mathematics.

Meanwhile, the national funding picture is equally challenging. While Hampshire faces a £500 million highways funding gap. Government maintenance funding this year was £30 million. We matched it from our own budget, but it barely scratches the surface. Only a small fraction of road tax and fuel duty is spent on road maintenance, and the deterioration seen across the South East — including on motorways managed by National Highways — shows this is a national crisis, not a local failing.

Despite all this, we are acting. We have deployed more Jet and Dragon Patchers, added extra patching gangs, increased drainage and flooding response teams, and brought in an additional white‑lining crew. Temporary repairs will continue where necessary to keep roads safe, with permanent repairs following when weather conditions improve.

Looking ahead, we are reshaping the 2026/27 budget to move every possible penny into road maintenance, with over £10 million expected to be added for summer repairs. We are also progressing a new lane‑rental scheme, which could generate up to £5 million a year to reinvest in highways.

Our crews are working flat out in the worst winter conditions in years. But until the national funding system reflects the true cost of social care, education and road maintenance, councils like Hampshire will continue to face impossible choices.