VILLAGERS have called on Barnsley Council to commit to widespread resurfacing work after complaints about its pothole-ridden network were lodged.
‘Every main route’ in Royston has been ravaged by this winter’s conditions, according to locals who called on highways bosses to act.
Although residents conceded that they had seen council teams ‘patching up’ potholes, they urged the local authority to commit to widespread resurfacing measures given that main routes require work.
High Street, Midland Road and Station Road have all been brought up as ‘must-do’ locations.
A council statement said: “We are currently preparing the capital programme report for the resurfacing of roads and footways in 2026.
“Provisionally this includes the section of High Street from The Wells to Redwood Avenue and a section of Station Road.
“The highways in Royston are inspected as part of cyclic safety inspections and when requests for service are received.
“Therefore, the inspector has been requested visit the roads mentioned and any actionable safety defects identified will be ordered.”
According to council data, 82.13 per cent of its A-roads are rated ‘green’ - its highest standard - while 14.91 per cent are amber and just 2.96 per cent are red.
However, B-roads perform much worse, with just two-thirds in the green bracket and more than a quarter being deemed amber - one in 20 are rated red, the figures add.
In response, the council confirmed to the Chronicle yesterday that a pothole response plan has been developed - and assured residents that improvements will be seen in the coming months.
Councillor James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, said: “I want to reassure residents that we are taking action - our teams are working hard to keep the borough moving and make our roads safe.
“We know how important this is to people, and we’re putting every available resource into strengthening our response.
“To make our roads safer in the short-term, we carry out temporary repairs when a pothole could put people at risk but the weather or conditions aren’t right for a permanent fix.
“We only record and repair potholes that are deeper than 40mm and wider than 150mm, so roads with some minor damage might not be repaired straight away.
“While we carry out these short-term repairs, we’re also working on bigger, longer-lasting fixes and resurfacing roads.
“We will be investing just under £18.3m - pending cabinet approval - into our highway network in the 2026/27 financial year, which will help improve road conditions across the borough over a longer period of time.
“Our excellent teams continue carrying out emergency repairs when we need them, combined with a significant capital maintenance programme to improve our network over the long term to reduce the number of emergency repairs needed.
“While these weather‑related issues can’t always be prevented, we are acting quickly, prioritising safety, and ensuring longer‑term repairs continue across Barnsley.
“I’m grateful to everyone for their patience and to our dedicated staff who are going above and beyond to manage this increased demand.”
Councillor Caroline Makinson, who represents the Royston ward, told the Chronicle that she is aware of residents’ complaints.
“The weather we’ve had recently has been terrible and that’s made it much worse but it is the same no matter where you live,” she said.
“Everything that’s been reported has been fed back to the highways department and I’d encourage people to continue doing so.
“Royston is earmarked for resurfacing work.”
