A trial aiming to further improve road repairs in Northumberland has been agreed by the Council. 
 

A three-month ‘invest to save’ project will be trialled in the north and west of the county, where affected areas of road will be cut out and patched, rather than using the current method of filling and repairing the pothole itself. 
 

While more expensive and time consuming, the aim is that the cut and patch technique will be smoother for road users and more hard-wearing so less likely to re-occur. 
 

At present, cutting and patching for repair of defects identified through inspections or reports from the public is used less widely than the fill and repair method. 
 

The Council’s Cabinet agreed to set aside £492,600 from the council’s severe weather reserve to fund the pilot scheme which will get underway in late June. 
 

The trial is the latest in a series of investments the council has made to tackle issues on the county’s 3,500 miles of roads. 
 

These include four new gully tankers and the PotholePro, a multi-functional mobile repair machine which is being used in the South-East of the county, as well as the Council investing an additional £17.225m of its own funds for a minor roads maintenance programme. 
 

Recently the council also launched its new public reporting system, FixMyStreets Pro - to make it easier for the public to pinpoint and report repairs and get feedback on what action is being taken. 
 

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Improving our Roads and Highways, said: “We know potholes and road defects are a big issue for residents and every year we spend millions carrying out thousands of repairs and improvements to our road network across the county. 
 

“We’re always looking at ways of improving the service we provide and this trial will allow us to create more longer-lasting repairs and create smoother road surfaces for users. 
 

"This new approach does require a step change in operations due to the nature and scope of the additional works involved, as the repair technique used takes longer to complete and involves traffic management, such as temporary traffic lights, to allow teams to work safely.  
 

“The trial will be closely monitored to help further understand the effects and impacts of carrying out more pothole repairs using this patch repair technique.” 
 

The report to Cabinet stated that the operational, financial and logistical constraints mean that the application of this repair technique would be limited to a proportion of road defects during the trial with other defects continuing to be repaired using the fill and repair method.  
 

The outcome and implications of the trial and the repair techniques used will then be evaluated and considered as part of the Council’s budget setting process for 2024/25.