Under the PFI contract, our spending is divided into capital and revenue expenditures. Capital spending includes major projects like resurfacing roads and maintaining large structures such as bridges. Revenue spending covers day-to-day maintenance activities, including pothole repairs, routine inspections and street cleansing including fly-tipping, bin and litter collection, surface drainage, street lighting maintenance and repair, winter maintenance such as gritting, highways claims and landscape management for the adopted highway.

Highway maintenance spending

Year Capital allocated by DfT Capital spend Revenue spend Estimate of % spent on preventative maintenance Estimate of % spent on reactive maintenance
2025/26 (projected) £2,731,000 £13,031,000 £21,455,000 80% 20%
2024/25 £2,011,000 £12,792,000 £20,700,000 79% 21%
2023/24 £2,011,000 £13,001,000 £19,786,000 78% 22%
2022/23 £1,786,000 £10,743,000 £19,640,000 80% 20%
2021/22 £1,786,000 £9,636,000 £17,811,000 82% 18%
2020/21 £2,441,000 £9,641,000 £16,790,000 79% 21%

Additional information on spending

The split between preventative and reactive maintenance is determined based on several factors, including the current condition of the infrastructure and historical data on maintenance needs.  The PFI contract transfers the risk of preventive and reactive maintenance to Ensign through a fixed price contract so there is no information on the split between these two categories.  The Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) commissions annual surveys on these factors and the council have used the desired allocation for this report.  The current survey used for this report can be found here, ALARM-survey-2025.

Over the past five years, we have filled an estimated 6,890 potholes with an average of 1,378 each year. This ensures that we can maintain a safe and efficient road network for the community. This includes Category one defects that are safety-critical issues that require immediate attention due to an immediate or imminent hazard or a risk of rapid structural deterioration together with Category two defects that will likely become serious issues if left unaddressed. Specific examples include potholes less than 20mm deep that are expected to worsen, or broken/missing manhole covers that pose hazards.  The figures reported includes both carriageways and footways for Portsmouth highway network.

Our goal is to increase the proportion of spending on preventative maintenance through collaboration with Ensign. By prioritising preventative measures, we can extend the life of our roads, reduce the frequency of costly repairs, and improve overall road conditions.

Estimate of potholes filled:

  • 2024/25: 1,510
  • 2023/24: 1,889
  • 2022/23: 1,268
  • 2021/22: 979
  • 2020/21: 1,244