Council counters criticism from opposition over Pothole Pro road repair scheme

The Pothole Pro cuts out sections of road around potholes for neater repairs and aims to work four times quicker than traditional methods, according to JCB.

Conservative members at the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee on Monday, April 27 queried why a machine previously trialled and not adopted in Lincolnshire is now being promoted as a solution.

They said earlier trials in Horncastle concluded it was more expensive than standard equipment and poorly suited to rural distances and scattered potholes, with alternative machinery considered more appropriate.

At the scrutiny committee councillors were told that the Pothole Pro trial had been successful and the authority’s highways contractor, Balfour Beatty, said it will keep the machine ‘on contract’ – meaning it can continue to be used to carry out pothole repairs across the county.

Speaking after the meeting, Coun Charlotte Vernon, Conservative Shadow Executive Member for Highways, said: “This is the same machine that was trialled before and not taken forward. So it is right that the committee,

and the public, ask why something previously judged not suitable for Lincolnshire is now being pushed so hard. Nothing about our roads has changed. The question is, what has changed in their approach?”

Conservative councillors are calling for full transparency on costs, performance and long-term value before any wider rollout.

Shaun Butcher, Head of Highways Asset and Local Management Services at Lincolnshire County Council countered: “The previous trial with the Pothole Pro lasted nine weeks and looked at the machine in a different way whereby it was tasked with individual pothole repairs and would have to travel quite some distances between jobs given the large, open nature of the county.

"The latest trial has lasted eight months, and we have worked closely on planning and deployment of the machine so that it now works on larger areas of road at a time to raise productivity. In our test, which was carried out by officers for the council independent of any political group, the outcome has been extremely clear, and the Pothole Pro has exceeded its targets for area repaired.”

Officers had also offered to share data from JCB with the Scrutiny committee to give further insight of its effectiveness.

As for the cost of the Pothole Pro, Mr Butcher has explained: “It costs us nothing outside of the agreed contract rates, the machine is part of the contractor’s fleet.”

The Conservative opposition has also drawn attention to media reports highlighting links between senior Reform politicians nationally backing the machine and a £200,000 donation.

The Guardian has reported that the Reform party received the donation from the manufacturer of the Pothole Pro machine, JCB, in November last year.

Dismissing the suggestions, Mr Butcher said: “This latest trial of the machine was carried out by officers and the contractor without any input from the administration once the trial was underway.

“Right from the start it was made clear that whatever the outcome of the data, the decision on whether to use the machine within road maintenance operation would be entirely down to our contractors in liaison with officers and not councillors.

“The Leader of the council outlined that ethic from the beginning of this work and has not been part of the trial in any way whilst we have analysed and collected the data when putting the machine through various scenarios to determine its suitability for the job at hand.”

Coun Sean Matthews, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council added: “Given that this trial has been conducted, and that analysis has been overseen, by a very long standing and respected group of officers who have been given the absolute freedom to say yes or no to this machine, I do not see how these comments apply to what has happened here.

“This trial has been set out differently to the previous trial in 2021, which lasted for just nine weeks. This new trial has shown a real benefit to road repair which can be proven, beyond doubt, after eight months on our roads. We now have a large amount of data which shows exactly where the gains are.

“To be clear, there was absolutely no political influence during this trial. And we continue to look at other products to improve our roads. I am extremely proud of the Highways team for being so diligent and for putting this machine through its paces, and that it can add some serious clout to our road repair efforts.

“It is important that, as part of our efforts to improve our 5,500-mile road network, the Highways team have the freedom to properly trial new tech, and revisit previously discounted ideas, in our ongoing effort to fix Lincolnshire’s roads.”