25 years to fix Wiltshire’s “horrendous” roads, meeting told

By Local Democracy Reporter Peter Davison with additional reporting by White Horse News

It will take 25 years to repair Wiltshire’s “horrendous” roads at the current rate of just over 100 miles a year, a meeting has heard.

The first annual report issued by Wiltshire Council raised uncomfortable questions when it was scrutinised by a cross-party committee of members.

The Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee got the first glimpse of the 40-page report, which will go before the council’s Liberal Democrat-led Cabinet and then Full Council before being made public.

In the report, the council said it has committed to tackling potholes, with 13,746 repaired during the year.

The report says, “We were able to upscale and mobilise additional resource to tackle potholes and many road surfacing schemes were undertaken in 2025/26 to improve the condition of the county’s roads, with over 118.7 miles of road and footway treated successfully.”

Cllr Bridget Wayman (Nadder Valley, Conservative) questioned the figures for road resurfacing.

She said, “The report says over 118 miles of roads have been resurfaced. In the grand scheme of things that’s four per cent of all our highways. It’s going to take 25 years if we’re going to resurface all of them.

“It doesn’t give the whole story. I guess most people in Wiltshire have know how many miles of road we have. Our roads are still deteriorating. There are plenty of horrendous roads that still need replacing.”

She asked for the total 2,800 miles of roads in Wiltshire to be included in the report for comparison.

The issue will be familiar to residents in Westbury, where complaints were raised last year about road defects on Green Lane, The Tynings, Warminster Road and Edward Street.

Residents voiced frustration about the condition of the roads, highlighting the wider concerns about the state of Wiltshire’s highways.

The committee noted the report.