Wokingham Borough Council has reported effective use jet patcher machines to help fill potholes.

Speaking at a council meeting this week, Andy Glencross, Assistant Director of Highways, said jet patcher machines, which fill and seal the potholes quickly, are used to repair many roads in the area with this method proving effective for the council.

Mr Glencross said: “There’s a lot of innovation around pothole fixing. The government has just announced a scheme to look at innovation in pothole fixing. We also have an innovation group in our highways team and we’re looking at innovation across the piste in highways infrastructure.

The council has promised to invest £8 million in improving Wokingham’s roads – including £1 million for pothole repairs – in 2020/21 and earmarked around 100 roads for resurfacing.

It is also adding micro-asphalt and surface dressing to about 50 roads, to seal them from water, prevent skidding and extend the life of each road by up to seven years.

During the meeting, councillor Graham Howe (Conservative), asked whether Wokingham’s £124 million highways maintenance strategy could be more proactive, instead of “reactive”.

Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Executive Member for transport, said: “We’ve doubled the amount of money spent on roads and we’re still trying to catch up with what we’d really like to do.

“It would be a nice idea to programme stuff, so you can do it long in advance, and understand what’s coming, but I’m not sure it’s feasible. We have to do it on priority.”