Pothole situation: out of control

Cllr David Kendall has today written to senior officers at Essex County Council demanding to know when potholes will be fixed and complaining about the amount of information made available to councillors and residents.

He said:

"The situation is now out of control. To highlight two examples in Brentwood West alone,we had a pothole in Victoria Road that waited 20 months for repair outside an elderly home and a children's play area. It looks like we are facing the same situation again with a six inch deep pothole in Brook Road still waiting for repair eight months after it was reported by Cllr Karen Chilvers.

"The potholes are inspected and marked out and then no-one seems to have the faintest idea when the repair will actually take place."

The Liberal Democrat group has welcomed the £11m additional budgetfor pothole repairs but fears this will simply be used to catch up on what should have been done so far and question how far this will stretch across the entire county.

Cllr Kendall has asked for information on:

· Whether the £11 million is new money or if it was already part of the Highways budget?

· What is going to happen when this £11 million has been spent?

· What money has been set aside for future pothole repairs?

· How is this £11 million going to be allocated? What will Brentwood get?

Meanwhile, residents remain in a dangerous situation of swerving to avoid potholes, driving over them and causing damage to their cars and causing injuries when crossing roads or walking on pavements.

It is simply not good enough.