Oxfordshire County Council and its highways contractor M Group have used Wildmere Road in Banbury as a test site to trial 15 different methods of filling in potholes or ‘patching’ minor defects.
Wildmere Road was closed and a 700-metre stretch was divided into sections. Each section had a different type of pothole or patch repair carried out to get a direct comparison of the various methods.
It is the second time the council has carried out a pothole repair innovation event, following a similar trial in Steventon in 2023, believed to have been the first of its kind in the country. Seven repair methods were trialled in 2023, making this week’s event a much larger undertaking.
Councillor Liz Leffman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Construction and Repair, said:
“The impact of potholes on our roads this winter, not just in Oxfordshire but nationwide, has been unprecedented.
“We are committed to seeking new and innovative methods of carrying out repairs on our 3,000 mile road network. Technology is changing all the time and it is important to test the latest products to maximise value for money when it comes to highway maintenance.
“The 2023 event led to us adopting several new methods of repair, and ruling out others, so we hope this latest trial will provide evidence and information for our contractors about what repair methods work best by testing them on the same stretch of road.”
Since January 2026, M Group has repaired more than 33,000 highways defects – compared to 37,042 potholes filled in the whole of the 2024 – 25.
This was against a backdrop of perfect pothole-forming weather conditions this winter – a prolonged freeze followed by a protracted period of rain, which led to an unprecedented increase in the number of emergency pothole reports. The council was receiving more than 1,000 reports a week, reaching over 1,300 defects in a single week in early March.
As a result, the number of repair crews was increased from seven to 25 to reduce a backlog of potholes caused by the weather. More specialist crews and equipment were also brought in, including a ‘Bobcat’ planer, Dragon Patcher and thermal road repairs.
Richard Lovewell, M Group Business Director, said:
“From introducing the Dragon Patcher back in 2015 to hosting the UK’s first pothole trial day in 2023, M Group and Oxfordshire County Council have a strong track record of working together to find better ways to maintain and repair roads.
“This latest trial is about building on that progress. By testing new products and approaches we can ensure that we are using the best value materials in the right conditions and the right places, increasing efficiency and durability, and delivering better value for Oxfordshire residents.
“With wetter winters and hotter summers, it is vital we keep adapting our maintenance techniques to cope with increasing pressure on our road networks.”
(Picture: Oxfordshire County Council)
