More than 52,000 potholes on almost 100 miles of road have been fixed or prevented across Mid Wales since April last year, the Welsh Government has said.

Figures released under a local government borrowing initiative show that around 171,000 potholes have been addressed across 324 miles of local roads in Wales, while more than 30,000 potholes have been repaired or prevented on over 65 miles of the Strategic Road Network (SRN).

The government said 1,011 local and 24 trunk road resurfacing schemes have been completed across Wales, with work continuing before the end of the financial year. Projects in Libanus and on the A475 outside Llandyfriog were highlighted as examples of improved roads already making a difference locally.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates said: “Fixing our roads is a priority for this government. I am delighted with the fantastic progress that’s been made since April and there’s a lot more to come.

“We have significantly increased our investment in road maintenance and preventative treatments this financial year to deliver improvements across both the strategic and local road networks.”

However, Powys County Councillor Iain McIntosh (Reform UK) challenged the figures, describing them as “misleading” and “designed to give voters a false impression” ahead of the Senedd election.

Cllr McIntosh said there is no comprehensive count of potholes repaired on local authority roads, adding that much of the work is unrecorded and many so-called “potholes prevented” exist only on paper. He called for audited repair numbers to be published and for real repairs to be distinguished from estimates.

“Anyone who lives in Powys, drives our rural roads, or pays for suspension repairs out of their own pocket knows that the condition of our roads continues to deteriorate,” he said.