Somerset Council has been rated among the best in England for road condition and maintenance – but marked down over spending, in new government rankings.

The Department for Transport (DfT) this week published its first set of scores for all 153 English local authorities, grading them on road condition, best practice and capital spend.

Somerset was given a 'green' rating for the condition of its A roads, B and C roads, and unclassified roads – putting it in the top 26 councils nationwide. Its preventative maintenance programme, focused on resurfacing and surface dressing, also received a green mark, ranking it 21st.

But the council was graded 'red' for capital spend, despite saying it expects to use 98 per cent of its £45 million Government allocation this year. That dragged its overall rating down to 'amber'.

In 2025/26, the authority plans to resurface 55 km of road and carry out preventative treatments on 185 km – with 89 per cent of its budget earmarked for such work.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport, said the red rating on spend was "confusing", claiming the council is following what the DfT itself describes as "best practice".

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