Bolton Road Repairs: £6.5m from £60m Pothole Fund 2026

Key Points

• Bolton has been allocated £6,552,000 out of the £60 million Greater Manchester Pothole Fund.
• The £60 million fund was unveiled by the Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig on 2 September 2026.
• The £60 million allocation comes from the transport budget of the city region following the agreement between the leaders on the diversion of the budget for highways maintenance.
• The budget covers more than one million square metres of road surface, which amounts to around 125 kilometres of highways.
• The allocations were done using a formula that uses the number and length of roads in each borough, thus making “the more roads you have, the more funding you receive,” according to the Mayor.
• The £60 million budget is bigger than the yearly allocation made by central government to Greater Manchester’s councils on road and pavements’ maintenance, according to Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester.
• All the ten Greater Manchester boroughs are set to benefit from the budget with Wigan receiving the highest budget (£8.241 million) and Bury receiving the lowest budget (£4.374 million).
• The budget will be used for the repair of potholes hotspots, road and pavement resurfacing, as well as for future proofing surfacing, according to

Bolton (Manchester Mirror) September 04, 2026 – Bolton is to receive more than £6.5 million from a new £60 million fund aimed at improving roads and pavements across Greater Manchester, as announced by Mayor Bev Craig. The allocation for Bolton stands at £6,552,000, placing it among the mid-range recipients in the ten-borough distribution.

As reported by the BBC, Mayor Craig confirmed that the financial support would be accessible to each borough, sufficient to repair and maintain over a million square metres of roadway. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) stated that the designated funding would suffice to repair and maintain over a million square metres of road, addressing current issues and resurfacing roads and pavements to prevent future deterioration.

How is the £60 million pothole fund being distributed across Greater Manchester?

The funding distribution across the ten boroughs has been calculated using a formula based on the quantity and length of roads within each borough. “The more roads you have, the more funding you receive,” Mayor Craig stated, according to the BBC.

The allocations, rounded to the nearest £1,000, are as follows, as reported by multiple outlets including the Express, Secret Manchester, and Hello Rayo:

• Bolton: £6,552,000
• Bury: £4,374,000
• Manchester: £8,155,000
• Oldham: £5,258,000
• Rochdale: £5,243,000
• Salford: £5,388,000
• Stockport: £6,820,000
• Tameside: £4,980,000
• Trafford: £4,992,000
• Wigan: £8,241,000

As reported by journalists at the Bolton News, the £60 million fund is larger than the total annual amount collectively provided by central government to the region’s councils for road and pavement maintenance.

Why was the £60 million pothole fund created and where is the money coming from?

The extra cash comes from the city region’s transport budget, with leaders agreeing to reallocate funding towards highways maintenance, according to the Express and Hello Rayo. This additional funding is sourced from existing transport budgets and follows a recent increase in national government support for pothole repairs, as noted by the BBC.

As reported by Secret Manchester, the package fulfils Mayor Bev Craig’s manifesto pledge to repair damaged roads and ensure pedestrian safety. Mayor Craig said residents from across all ten boroughs had complained to her about potholes, prompting the initiative, according to the BBC.

What will the Bolton £6.5m pothole funding be used for?

The money will be used to repair hotspots where surfaces are in poor condition, as well as to resurface roads and pavements to stop them deteriorating in the first place, the Mayor’s office said, as reported by Hello Rayo. Greater Manchester leaders say the investment will help councils repair damaged stretches of road, resurface highways and pavements, and prevent further deterioration, according to the Bolton News.

As reported by I Love Manchester, cash will also go towards pavements as well as roads, with some going towards future-proofing surfacing to make them more resilient. The £60 million aims to keep “our highways network safe and reliable, enabling transport teams to repair hotspots where surfaces are in poor condition, as well as resurface roads and pavements to prevent them from deteriorating in the first place,” the Mayor’s office stated, according to the Express.

Background of the particular development

The £60 million Pothole Fund was announced by Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig on 2 September 2026, following complaints from residents across all ten boroughs about the condition of roads and pavements. The funding is sourced from the city region’s transport budget after leaders agreed to reallocate money towards highways maintenance, and it exceeds the total annual amount collectively provided by central government to the region’s councils for road and pavement maintenance. The allocation formula is based on the number and length of roads in each borough, meaning areas with more extensive road networks receive larger shares. Bolton’s £6.552 million share is part of a broader effort to repair more than one million square metres of road surface, equivalent to around 125 kilometres of highway, across Greater Manchester.

Prediction: How this development can affect Bolton residents and commuters

The £6.552 million allocation to Bolton is likely to result in visible improvements to road and pavement conditions across the borough, particularly in areas identified as pothole hotspots. Residents and commuters may experience fewer vehicle damages, reduced journey disruptions, and improved pedestrian safety as damaged surfaces are repaired and resurfaced. In the longer term, the investment could help prevent further deterioration of the highway network, potentially reducing the frequency of emergency repairs and associated costs for the council. However, the overall impact will depend on how effectively Bolton Council prioritises and delivers the works, and whether the funding is sufficient to address the full extent of road maintenance needs in the borough.