Tuesday 8 July 2014

How are the potholes in your area?

Just last week Northumberland was given another £2.9million for road repairs, more than any other county in the North East.

Northumberland has already received £2.7million from the £183.5million that the Government made available to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather.

This was an emergency payment to help with road repairs following the wet winter and should pay for the repair of 3.3 million potholes nationwide. The North East as a whole was awarded £6,298,272, with
more than a third – £2,736,241 – allocated to Northumberland. However, concerns have been raised with me about how the money has been spent.

I have had many constituents complaining to be about the poor quality of the Council's pothole repairs. What worries me is we have seen a quick fix rush to save the Council's blushes after they promised they would all be fixed before the end of June. It is all well and good the Council patting themselves on the back but poor
quality patching will mean in a few months things will be back to square one.

I have had reports of pothole repairs coming lose just weeks after being completed. If you have any feedback on the quaility of the repairs do let me know: guy.opperman.mp@parliament.uk

I am pleased we have many potholes being repaired but I am afraid the question local people is asking is just how long will they last?

What I have had many reports of is patching being laid on failed areas which suggest the underlying materials are in a poor state. That means the repair is going to be very short term. The simple truth is prevention is better than cure and it is important the job is done right the first time. It is also very important to know if a repair has failed and needs redoing properly so let me know.