The Road Emulsion Association (REA) has launched a local elections campaign ahead of polling day on 7 May, urging all candidates to commit to a long-term, preventative approach to maintaining the UK's local road network.
The campaign calls on candidates to support three key commitments:
- Significantly increased investment in preventative road treatments
- Maintained long-term funding for local roads
- Clear, transparent preventative maintenance strategies
It also comes with a printable poster encouraging candidates to publicly show their support for preventative maintenance. Councillors and candidates are invited to take a photo with the poster and share it on social media, tagging the REA and its members, a REA spokeswoman said.
The publicity drive builds on a year of significant progress in the sector, REA said, including a 15% rise in surface dressing in 2025 and the expansion of encapsulation, which means one in four surface-dressed roads are now protected with a double waterproofing layer.
'These developments mark a turning point after more than a decade of decline in preventative treatments,' the REA said in a press statement.
REA consultant and secretary Kevin Maw said: 'We are seeing real momentum behind preventative maintenance, but there is still a long way to go. Councils that invest in surface dressing and encapsulation are already seeing fewer potholes, stronger networks and better long-term value.
'Our message to candidates is simple: prevention works, and communities deserve roads that are resilient, safe and built to last."
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'Preventing potholes forming in the first place is the key to improving our roads in the long term. The plague of potholes we're now suffering is down to years of doing the wrong thing: focusing on filling potholes without then sealing surfaces to the damaging effects of the elements.
'We're hopeful we'll begin to break that cycle this year with councils being given record amounts to maintain their roads properly, a commitment to five-year funding blocks and a much-needed top-down focus on preventative maintenance.'
The REA Local Elections 2026 campaign will run from February to late March, ahead of the pre-election period. Weekly updates, data insights and sector commentary will be published on the REA LinkedIn page.
