Cabinet Member for Roads Updates Residents on Pothole Pro Progress

We know many residents are concerned about the condition of roads across Midlothian, and rightly so. As these photos from Mayfield show, many roads are in a poor state and need significant repair.

Working hard

This has not happened overnight. It is the result of a historic backlog of repairs and years of underinvestment in road infrastructure. Over the past few years, the administration in Midlothian Council has been working hard to catch up, but that is a major challenge when we are operating within tight budget limits, a finite workforce, and rising costs for fuel, materials, and machinery. We are pushing ahead as fast as we can, but reversing years of decline takes time.

Focusing on areas

Some people have said that the Pothole Pro is “invisible” because they do not see it moving all over Midlothian. That is not the case. The Pothole Pro is going into an area and remaining there for a period so all the repairs can be carried out out properly. It is not a machine that moves from street to street every few minutes. When it is in use, it is working intensively in one location.

Our statistics

In 2023-24 our Pothole Pro and roads team permanently repaird 10,600m2 of the network – the equivalent to a full size football pitch. This increased to 16,029m2 in 2024-25 as our teams began to address larger grouped areas and in 2025-26 we have currently delivered 15,850 up to the end of Q3 (31 December 20 25) . We are on target to exceed the previous years figures.

Within budget and capacity

Our roads team is doing an excellent job in difficult circumstances, managing both the damage we see now, and the backlog built up over many years. Alongside the Pothole Pro, Midlothian Council also uses a road planer for larger resurfacing works. Both are in use and both are being worked to the maximum extent that workforce capacity and available budget allow.

Rising costs

At the same time, rising costs continue to put pressure on an already stretched roads budget. Fuel costs and the cost of road materials directly affect how far the budget can go. That is the reality councils across the country are facing.

Much to achieve

There is still a long way to go, but the teams on the ground are working hard every day to make a visible difference.