The council welcomes the publication of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) new local road maintenance ratings for 2025–26. This introduces a transparent traffic-light system to show how well councils are maintaining their local roads.
The DfT ratings assess every local highway authority in England against road condition, investment levels and adoption of best practice.
Authorities receive an overall rating of green, amber, or red, supported by detailed scorecards. These ratings aim to give residents confidence in how their roads are managed and encourage councils to adopt long-term, preventative maintenance strategies.
For Cambridgeshire, the results are:
- Overall rating: Amber
- Road condition: Amber
- Investment score: Green
- Best Practice: Amber
The green rating for investment reflects the Council’s commitment to record levels of spending on highways maintenance. In 2025/26, Cambridgeshire is investing £73 million in the highway network, including £36 million from DfT and £24 million of additional funding that has been allocated by the County Council. This builds on similar levels of investment that were made in 24/25 and the draft business plan for 26/27 outlines that this level of investment would continue.
This is the largest investment in Cambridgeshire’s roads for a decade, enabling resurfacing, preventative treatments, and upgrades to bridges, footways, and cycle routes.
The Council acknowledges that challenges remain. Around 40% of Cambridgeshire’s roads lie on peatland, which makes them more expensive and difficult to maintain due to seasonal movement and instability. This geology means higher costs, resurfacing treatments are often ineffective and they require more frequent repairs compared to other areas. However, over the past year alone, 11 km of peat-affected roads were reconstructed or resurfaced at a cost of £5.5 million, and further works are planned for 2026.
The Council has developed a revised asset management approach which includes a planned and preventative method to highways maintenance which will continue to be the case in future years.
Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “Improving the state of our network is a top priority. We are pleased to see our record investment in highways recognised with a green score, but after decades of underinvestment we know there is more to do. We’re pushing hard to update our old processes and make sure we’re delivering the best possible service we can and hope to see that progress reflected in the next scorecard. Our priority remains delivering safer, better roads for all of us.”
The Council will continue to press for a fairer funding model that reflects the additional costs of maintaining roads built on peat soil. In the meantime, we remain committed to transparency and efficiency, ensuring every pound spent delivers maximum benefit for residents.
For more information on the DfT ratings and Cambridgeshire’s highways maintenance plans, visit: Local road maintenance ratings 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK and https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/highways-transparency
