Sheffield City Council carried out maintenance treatment on 4.4% of the city’s minor roads in the year to March 2026, above the figure of 3.0% for England as a whole, according to Department for Transport figures.
The figures, in table RDC0321 published on 14 October 2026, cover strengthening, resurfacing and preservation work on B, C and unclassified roads between April 2025 and March 2026. Sheffield has 1,812 km of these roads. Most of the work was preservation, such as surface dressing, on 3.3% of the network, with resurfacing on 0.6% and strengthening on 0.5%.
The picture on the city’s main roads was different. Sheffield treated 1.3% of its 149 km of local A roads, against 6.9% across England.
South Yorkshire
Across South Yorkshire, Rotherham treated 4.6% of its minor roads, Doncaster 3.0% and Barnsley 1.8%. On A roads, Doncaster treated 9.8%, Rotherham 6.2% and Barnsley 2.5%.
The table was analysed by GM Rides, a London private hire and airport transfer firm, in research sent to newsrooms on 20 October 2026. It found that 21 of the 152 highway authorities treated less than 1% of their minor roads in 2025/26. Sheffield was not among them. GM Rides said the England figure rose to 3.0% from 2.9% the year before, but remained below the 4.3% recorded in 2017.
What the figures do and do not show
The percentages measure the length of road treated as a share of the network. They do not take account of the width or depth of the work, are not a count of pothole repairs, and do not on their own show the condition of the roads or how much work was needed. Councils can revise the figures the following year.
The Department for Transport notes that the boundaries of Sheffield and Barnsley changed on 1 April 2025. The road lengths used for both councils are estimates based on the boundaries as at 1 April 2024.