West Berkshire Council has achieved a ‘Green’ rating for road surface quality in a new national assessment by the Department for Transport (DfT), placing the authority among the very best in the country. The rating reflects overall performance across road condition, spending, maintenance practice, and overall highway management, making West Berkshire one of only three councils in England to secure Green across all categories – along with Portsmouth and Rotherham.
The traffic-light system, introduced by the DfT, grades councils on road condition, the effective use of government funding, and adherence to best practice in highway maintenance. Councils rated Green are recognised for maintaining safer, more reliable roads and making sustained, long-term improvements rather than short-term fixes.
Cllr Stuart Gourley, Executive Member for Environment and Highways at West Berkshire Council, said: “This is positive news for West Berkshire and shows that the investment we’ve made in our roads is delivering results in maintaining and improving our road network for all users.
“Improving the conditions of our roads is one of our top priorities and being one of three authorities rated overall ‘Green’ across the three categories of road condition, capital spend and best practice, reflects our commitment to maintaining roads properly for the long-term, rather than short-term fixes.
“This DfT financial provision sits alongside our own council-funded highway maintenance programme, which continues to deliver significant improvements across West Berkshire. In 2025 alone, we repaired 2,498 potholes, cleaned over 20,000 gullies, fixed 648 streetlights and resurfaced more than 63 kilometres of road.
“Alongside this, we’ve carried out essential works such as signage cleaning and white line repainting, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to maintaining safer, more reliable roads for residents.
“We know residents want to see these improvements continue, and while Government funding is welcome, we’ll continue to work with the DfT for the investment needed to deliver the high-quality road network our communities expect and deserve.”
This recognition comes as the Government commits £7.3 billion to local road maintenance over the next four years, including £32.5 million in baseline funding for West Berkshire and a potential £12.1 million in incentive funding. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander commented: “For too long, drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate. We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3 billion 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.”
West Berkshire’s Green rating confirms that its council-funded and government-backed programmes are being used effectively. By repairing potholes, maintaining gullies and streetlights, resurfacing roads, and applying best-practice maintenance techniques, the authority demonstrates sustained investment and high-quality road management, offering reassurance to residents and drivers that their local network is among the most reliable in the country.
