York is set to have year-round road repairs and more works this year than previously, officials have said.
It comes amid government plans for tougher maintenance rules.
City of York Council environment lead Dave Atkinson said long-term improvements would be made to roads this year in a wide-ranging programme of repairs across the city centre, suburbs and villages.
Cllr Kate Ravilious, the council’s Labour transport spokesperson, said they were prioritising preventative maintenance amid a £102m road repairs backlog.
It comes as the Government announced councils who fail to demonstrate that they are maintaining roads effectively could lose a third of their national funding.
Councils will be required to show they are spending funding for roads as intended, or up to £525 million of the £1.6 billion Government repairs cash for next year would be withheld.
The government has also created a red, amber and green rating system grading councils and highways authorities based on how they are spending funding to repair roads.
York’s council is currently rated amber which officials said was in line with the vast majority of authorities across England.
City of York Council has unveiled a programme of repairs worth £16.5 million for local roads during the coming year.
Funding comes from the Government and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has also pledged £2.6 million.
Mr Atkinson said they were transparent about their maintenance programmes, including the one for 2026/7 published in March.
The official said: “This year’s plan will see us undertaking more road repairs and other highways works than previous years, thanks to the increase in spending, helping us to make long-term improvements to roads across the city.
“Our teams will be working year-round to deliver the highway maintenance plan to ensure people can travel around more easily.”
Transport executive member Cllr Ravilious said the council’s road maintenance budget had increased by half this year which would help tackle the £102 million works backlog.
Cllr Ravilious said: “Our officers do an amazing job of making our highways budget stretch as far as possible and last year York received an amber rating, despite many years of under-funding.
“Our roads need an estimated £102m to bring them up to a reasonable standard.
“We can’t achieve this in one year but we can make a positive difference and we’re prioritising preventative maintenance, which helps extend the life of existing road surfaces by ten years or more, preventing major deterioration and reducing the formation of potholes.”
