West Northamptonshire residents urged to prepare for tougher road conditions this winter

09 November 2026

Residents are being encouraged to take extra care on West Northamptonshire's roads as we head into the autumn and winter months.

Aside from hazardous conditions created by frost and ice, wet weather and freezing temperatures can weaken road surfaces and cause potholes to form quickly.

While West Northamptonshire Council has carried out extensive maintenance work throughout the year, new defects will develop during periods of severe weather.

It has continued to invest in both road repairs and preventative maintenance to help protect roads before problems develop

During 2025/26 more than 102,000 square metres of carriageway repairs were completed across the area. Since April this year, we’ve repaired around 60,000 square metres of road, putting us on target to match last year’s achievement.

The council and its roads contractor, Kier, have also increased planned maintenance and resurfacing to improve the network for the long term.

Cllr Richard Butler, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, said: "As we move into autumn and winter, we know people will be concerned about the condition of our roads and the risk of potholes.

"We want them to know that we share those concerns and that we've been working throughout the year to improve roads across West Northamptonshire.

"The colder months are always the most challenging. Rainwater can get into cracks in the road and, when temperatures drop, potholes can form in the blink of an eye.

"While no council can prevent every pothole from appearing, we have invested heavily in repairs, resurfacing and preventative maintenance.

"Our teams will continue to focus on safety-critical defects and respond to issues as quickly as possible.

"We also ask everyone using our roads to take extra care this winter and report any potholes or highway issues they see."

While winter weather can lead to an increase in road defects, our normal approach remains to manage road conditions through scheduled maintenance.

If severe weather causes defect numbers to rise beyond what teams can reasonably manage, we might temporarily prioritise the most urgent safety repairs and will keep residents updated on our approach.

Residents can report potholes and other highway problems online through the Council's reporting system.

Visit our highways pages to find out more or report any issues you identify.