Council confirms new pothole-fixing machine trial

Leicestershire County Council has confirmed it will carry out a trial of a machine used to fix potholes - after highways officials previously said it did not "stack up as an economical piece of kit".

The Reform UK-led authority said it planned to test out the Pothole Pro later this year to explore whether it could serve as a long-term solution to mending the county's crumbling roads.

Earlier this year, council highways officers released a report, after assessing the machine's performance, which concluded it was "too big" to deploy efficiently.

However, the council has now said it will look again at the machine after senior Reform councillors visited manufacturer JCB this week.

The machines cut out sections of road around potholes for "neater" repairs, and JCB says it works up to four times quicker than traditional methods.

A previous one-day trial of the Pothole Pro in January 2025, and a demonstration in 2021, led the previous Conservative administration to decide against acquiring any of the machines.

The new trial will be free and will take place "over a couple of days this autumn", the authority said.

The council said it had repaired 10,000 potholes in the last 12 months, but was struggling to keep up with a backlog of repairs, caused in part by the wettest winter on record.

Council cabinet member for highways Andrew Hamilton-Gray said: "We're creating a better Leicestershire and that means better roads and better value for money.

"Testing the latest innovation is part of that, and we're looking forward to trialling a Pothole Pro in Leicestershire with the experts at JCB.

"This is a trial, not a decision to buy.

"We need to see how it performs on our roads, how it supports our teams and whether it offers the right value for Leicestershire residents."

Council leader Dan Harrison said: "We were delighted to spend time at JCB and meet some of the apprentice team, who showed the grit, hard work and ambition that sits behind British engineering.

"This is about doing business with British business, supporting local industry and being part of something that keeps jobs, skills and innovation in this country."

Deborah Taylor, leader of the council's opposition Conservative group, led the authority when it rejected the chance to acquire a Pothole Pro.

However, she said it was worth looking again at them.

"Technology has advanced and we should see if it is something that will work. The trial will not cost the council anything.

"But when we last looked, the professional advice of officers was that these machines were good on long stretches of road but not suited to Leicestershire's rural roads."

She added: "It wasn't that long ago that the council spent £750,000 on new vehicles to mend our roads."

Other Reform UK-led councils have been using Pothole Pro machines to fix roads.

Nottinghamshire County Council's Reform leader Mick Barton said Pothole Pros were the "best bet on the market" while unveiling two of the new machines in May.

Lincolnshire County Council conducted a nine-week pilot of the Pothole Pro in 2021, before turning it down because engineers "found better tools".

However, its current Reform leader Sean Matthews authorised another trial in 2025 and, in April, the council confirmed the equipment would be maintained, having "demonstrated clear benefits in efficiency, safety and service across the county's road network".

Labour MP for North West Leicestershire Amanda Hack said: "Given the record £7.3 bn of funding from this Labour government to tackle potholes, I would like to say it is good to see Reform finally acting and trying to tackle the terrible state of our roads – some of the worst rated in the country.

"However, the Reform-led county council already trialled this machine and rejected it, saying it did not 'stack up as an economical piece of kit' for Leicestershire.

"Why the change of heart?

"The public deserve some answers and to know their council tax, which Reform raised earlier this year despite their pledge to cut it, is being properly spent."

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