More than 750 miles of road maintenance is planned across Yorkshire and the Humber this year, as the government announces additional funding to tackle potholes and improve road conditions.
The Department for Transport says the programme will include 550 miles of preventative maintenance and 200 miles of structural maintenance across the region.
However, the announcement does not specify how much work is planned in North Yorkshire or identify roads in the Harrogate and Knaresborough areas that will benefit.
More funding for road maintenance
The government says councils across Yorkshire and the Humber are spending £220 million on road maintenance this year, an increase of £75 million compared with before the current government came to power.
The figures form part of a wider £7.3 billion national road maintenance funding programme.
The government has also announced a further £220 million in incentive-based funding for councils across England. The money is linked to performance targets, with further funding dependent on councils meeting the required standards.
The Department for Transport says the approach is intended to encourage councils to repair roads before deterioration leads to potholes, rather than relying solely on repairs after damage has occurred.
Focus on preventing potholes
According to the department, every council in Yorkshire and the Humber has reported plans to carry out preventative roadworks this year.
Nationally, 94% of councils plan to deliver preventative road maintenance treatments this year, compared with 76% that planned such work last year.
The programme includes surface treatments and other preventative work designed to extend the life of road surfaces, alongside structural repairs where roads have deteriorated more significantly.
Separate figures published by the government last week indicated that local road conditions improved across England in the year ending March 2026, with a reduction in the proportion of minor roads requiring maintenance following work carried out during the previous year.
Government says investment will help drivers
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the funding was beginning to improve road conditions, although she acknowledged that more work remained to be done.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: For too long potholes have been a source of national embarrassment forcing hard-working people from Hull to Huddersfield to fork out for repairs and posing a danger to all road users. But today’s figures show that we are starting to turn a corner.While we know there is much more to do, our record funding, combined with tough new rules holding councils to account, mean that drivers are making safer, smoother journeys while giving people roads they can rely on.
The government estimates that pothole damage costs motorists nearly £600 on average, based on industry figures.
Kwik Fit and the RAC also welcomed the emphasis on preventative maintenance, arguing that addressing deterioration before potholes develop can reduce vehicle damage and improve road safety.
Which roads in North Yorkshire will benefit?
While the regional figures indicate the scale of the planned programme, the announcement does not provide a breakdown of the work allocated to North Yorkshire Council or individual areas such as Harrogate and Knaresborough.
The key question for local motorists is how much of the planned maintenance will take place on roads they use every day, and whether the additional investment will lead to a noticeable improvement in road conditions.
Further details about individual roads and maintenance schedules would be needed to establish the direct impact of the programme on communities across the Harrogate area.