Oxfordshire County Council, in partnership with its highways contractor M Group, has kicked off a two-year trial of 15 pothole repair techniques.

Each of the different methods will be monitored across a 700-metre stretch of Wildmere Road in Banbury, which runs through an industrial site and sees heavy traffic.

The road was divided into sections, with each one featuring a different type of pothole or patch repair, allowing for a direct comparison at the same location.

The trial featured six hot products or methods, including:

  • Thermal repairs
  • Mastic repair
  • Bobcat patching
  • UK Road Patch
  • and the M Group Dragon Patche
  • plus six cold lay products: these products ranged from those already in use in Oxfordshire, such as Viafix to newer approaches and technology, such as Tarmac Ultipatch Pothole Zero, sourced by M Group.

This trial marks the second of its kind in Oxfordshire, with the council having conducted a similar event in 2023. This earlier trial saw the testing of seven different methods, but the council stated that this new test is ‘a much larger undertaking'.

Cllr Liz Leffman, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for highways construction and repair, said: ‘We are committed to seeking new and innovative methods of carrying out repairs on our 3,000-mile road network. Technology is changing all the time and it is important to test the latest products to maximise value for money when it comes to highway maintenance.

‘The 2023 event led to us adopting several new methods of repair, and ruling out others, so we hope this latest trial will provide evidence and information for our contractors about what repair methods work best by testing them on the same stretch of road.'

The extreme weather conditions seen over the last winter led to M Group repairing more than 33,000 highways defects since January 2026 – compared to 37,042 potholes filled in the whole of 2024 - 25.

The council was receiving more than 1,000 reports a week, reaching over 1,300 defects in a single week in early March. Due to this, the number of repair crews was increased from seven to 25 in an attempt to help reduce a pothole backlog.

Richard Lovewell, M Group business director, commented: ‘From introducing the Dragon Patcher back in 2015 to hosting the UK's first pothole trial day in 2023, M Group and Oxfordshire County Council have a strong track record of working together to find better ways to maintain and repair roads.

‘This latest trial is about building on that progress. By testing new products and approaches we can ensure that we are using the best value materials in the right conditions and the right places, increasing efficiency and durability, and delivering better value for Oxfordshire residents.

‘With wetter winters and hotter summers, it is vital we keep adapting our maintenance techniques to cope with increasing pressure on our road networks.'

The trial site on Wildmere Road is set to be monitored regularly over the next two years to so that the council can make comparisons between the type of repair, equipment, material, and labour used, along with the time taken, and the cost of the repair.

Oxfordshire also plans to evaluate the longevity of repairs, waste generated, carbon impact, use of recycled content and productivity that may be achievable with each method.