How the weather affects our roads
As of late February 2026, the state of roads in the South of England are experiencing significant disruptions due to a surge in potholes, caused by an exceptionally wet January and subsequent freeze-thaw conditions.
Potholes are on the increase: Local councils, particularly in the South East and South West, have seen a dramatic rise in reports. For example, East Sussex reported over 3,700 pothole reports in January 2026, compared to 2,300 in January 2025.
"Whack-a-Mole" Repairs: ("whack-a-mole repair" refers to fixing one issue immediately and causes another to pop up elsewhere, often due to complex, underlying, or recurring problems). Councils are struggling to keep up with the backlog of potholes appearing, often using temporary repairs in winter, with plans for permanent resurfacing in warmer weather.
There appears to be a long-term strategy with road industry bodies urging councils to shift away from reactive pothole patching to preventative maintenance, such as surface dressing, which saw a 15% rise in 2025. Trials of new technology, such as thermal patching (which re-bonds existing asphalt using infrared heat), are planned for spring 2026 to speed up repairs.
You can report potholes to the local council and/or the National Highways, via their websites. You can also warn other drivers through using apps such as Waze and Fix My Road, when safe to do so.
You should be checking your tyres regularly if you are driving in a known pothole area, as these can seriously damage them. Leaving a larger gap between you and the vehicle in front, gives you a greater reaction time to safely avoid the worst of them.
Even though these things are beyond our control, due to it being mainly nature driven, Stellar are still meeting all our goals on deliveries for customers.
