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New machine could be part of council pothole push

Paul MoseleyNorfolk political reporter
News imagePaul Moseley/BBC Several people wearing blue safety helmets and high-visibility clothing stand behind an orange safety barrier, observing a yellow JCB road-maintenance machine operating on a rural road. Trees, hedgerows and open countryside surround the work area beneath a partly cloudy sky. Visible text includes “KIER” on one high-visibility jacket and “JCB” on the machinery.Paul Moseley/BBC
Staff and contractors have been assessing how well the machine works

A new pothole repair machine would only be part of a council's "armoury" to fix roads, a senior councillor has said.

Reform UK-run Norfolk County Council is trialling the vehicle from JCB – which says it can fix a "typical pothole" in eight minutes – over the next week.

The Liberal Democrats have questioned the plan as officials at Leicestershire County Council previously raised concerns about its effectiveness on rural roads.

Reform's Tom Dickerson said no decision would be made until staff and contractors had fully assessed whether it would help maintain around 6,200 miles (10,000km) of road the council is responsible for.

News imagePaul Moseley/BBC A man wearing a blue safety helmet displaying the text “KIER,” clear protective eyewear and a high-visibility orange jacket stands in the foreground of an open field. The background shows harvested farmland, a distant tree line and a cloudy sky. Paul Moseley/BBC
Reform's Tom Dickerson insisted the equipment would be evaluated before any decision was made

Potholes are regularly raised as an issue with local politicians, and the council said that in 2024/25 it fixed almost 8,000 on roads it maintains – which does not include major routes such as the A11, which are overseen by National Highways.

JCB's Pothole Pro has featured prominently in headlines over the last year, with a number of Reform councils – including Suffolk – either trialling or adopting them for repairs.

Priced at around £165,000, the machines are said to be able to do the work of several staff with just one driver.

And they have received praise from other political quarters, with then-roads minister Lillian Greenwood describing them as "a great example of new technology" last year.

Meanwhile, Labour-controlled Stoke-on-Trent said the machine completed "18 years of traditional work in 2.4 years".

However, staff at Leicestershire County Council concluded the vehicle was "too big" to deploy efficiently, although it has since announced plans for a new trial.

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News imagePaul Moseley/BBC A man wearing glasses, a dark suit and tie stands outdoors in daylight. Green vegetation, trees and a roadway appear in the background beneath a blue sky with scattered clouds, creating a bright, open setting.Paul Moseley/BBC
Liberal Democrat Rob Colwell said he had doubts about using the machine

Dickerson, the cabinet member for transport in Norfolk, said an evaluation meeting would take place after the machine's free trial ended.

He said if the authority chose to buy the machine it would be "just part of our armoury, something which we can use on certain types of roads".

"This is only a trial and at the end of the day the officers and people who are going to be using that will have the final say."

Liberal Democrat councillor Rob Colwell said that whilst it was "good to try different things", he was concerned that the machine may be too big "to repair lots of small defects".

"I think it's more of a headline grabber than actual work that's going to be done to make our roads better in Norfolk," he added.

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