Could be a long wait for pothole repairs
A COUNCILLOR has called for potholes to be fixed rather than reclassifying roads, potentially leading to more repair delays.
Liz Cohen, Lib Dem borough councillor for Shenfield, has spoken up over Essex County Council's decision to change its strategy for which road defects are repaired first.
Roads perceived to have more traffic will be given priority over others under the new guidelines.
This means potholes reported by Mrs Cohen on three separate occasions in Hutton Road since April now face a longer wait to be fixed as the street is not considered a priority.
This has angered the councillor who says the state of the road is causing a nuisance to drivers and residents.
Mrs Cohen said: "Someone has been down to inspect the potholes and spray red paint around, but even the paint is now disappearing where it has taken so long.
"You get excited when you see the spray paint get put around the hole, but then nothing happens.
"Now with the way the county council is reclassifying the roads and repairs, it makes me concerned I might have to report the defects again. It isn't good enough."
Officials from the county council said the defects in Shenfield have been reported on numerous occasions but risk assessments suggest they are not in need of immediate work.
A spokeswoman said: "They were not identified as dangerous or requiring urgent repair, and are in the process of being scheduled into the planned maintenance programme for repair making sure that impact on local traffic is kept to a minimum.
"The updated highways maintenance policy aims to provide a more consistent approach to road repairs across the county, and ensure priority is given to roads which carry the highest traffic volumes.
"Hutton Road is inspected on a monthly basis and no further deterioration of existing defects has been recorded."