Morning Phil

Following our recent AGM and Phil Hudsons suggestion to forward a list of roads affected by potholes.I have noted the following .

Greaves Lane (off Wood Lane) has numerous deep potholes , too many to report individually.

Knightsfield Lane similarly has many potholes particularly at the end of the lane.

The Parish Council does recognise the investment made in Hanbury and is very appreciative, however residents do not always see the big picture. The subject was one of the issues raised at the AGM , we are also constantly bombarded with comments and images on local social media.

Whilst I am sure you are fed up hearing about potholes , as a Parish Council we can only reflect the views of residents , several of whom have of course incurred significant costs resulting from wheel/tyre damage. General comments are:

Number and severity

Quality of the repairs and hence their sustainability, apparent lack of contract management.

Repairs to some but not all holes in the same area at one visit.

From the Parish Councils perspective it would be useful if we knew in advance what and when work was to be carried out . I assume such work is scheduled in advance. This would enable the PC to advise residents of road closures and reassure residents that action is being taken.

Recently temporary repairs have been carried on Anslow Road and Hanbury Hill and this is very much welcomed.

From a personal point of view contacting Highways has become a frustrating exercise , no telephone numbers and emails disappear into the ether. This lack of communication makes the PC seem impotent and out of touch and could so easily be avoided.

Best wishes 

Ian

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your email.

I appreciate the positive comments about the significant investment in Hanbury and the surrounding area but I do recognise that residents will always want the particular road they live on/use done immediately even if it is a very minor road.

I have copied in the highways officers responsible for the patching and surface treatment programme so they are aware of the request that Greaves Lane and Knightsfield Lane receive the same. The programme for this year is now fully committed so these would be done in a future year and I cannot guarantee that they will be included as we have received a very large amount of work locally and there is a need to see this benefit spread to other parts of the county as well.

I have also copied in Richard Rayson and Sam Griffiths who can ask for these roads to be inspected and any safety critical potholes dealt with. I would also encourage the residents to report anything particularly bad.

I will also ask that the Parish Council is informed when works are due to commence locally. The next road to be fully repaired should be Anslow Road and there will be surface treatments to follow later in the year.

On the quality of repairs, residents usually raise this when they see a temporary holding repair particularly those done in winter. These repairs are not intended to last but are to make a road safe until a full repair can be done. If a resident is concerned about a particular repair you are always welcome to refer them to me.

Finally, thanks to you and the Parish Council for your continued support on highways issues. I know you understand the scale of the challenge we face and that it is not a problem of the council’s making. Working together we are now starting to push into the backlog of repairs locally and I expect that to continue especially if the long-awaited increase in funding from government survives the general election.

As always, please do contact me again if there is anything you would like to discuss further.

Very best wishes,

Philip