Residents baffled as council fills only half the potholes on ‘dangerous’ bumpy road
Potholes can be one of road users' biggest bugbears. So when workers came to fix a 1,000-metre stretch of road on the outskirts of Cheltenham, drivers and cyclists in the local area were doubtless delighted.
However, residents have been left baffled by the council's decision to fill in only the larger potholes on Caernarvon Road, leaving 800 metres of the surface untouched – with some of the holes up to 60cm long.
The work was undertaken after numerous complaints from those living in the Gloucestershire town, who are baffled by the outcome.
Helen Taylor, a maths tutor, said: “I stopped cycling because it was too dangerous. I don’t know if it’s a puddle or a pothole.”
Norman Freeman, 82, a retired BT engineer living on the street, said: "They don’t fill in the holes properly. They just chuck some tarmac in and within a week it’s open again.
“They’ve been here 40 times in the last six months. They filled it in yesterday. They are not specialists. I could do a better job myself.
“It’s getting worse every day. I pay £2,000 council tax a year and I have to pay to sweep my own road. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I have been living here for 55 years. I have never seen such a mess."
Ingrid Harris, 61, said the work by the council to repair the potholes has been hampered by the wet weather. She said: "The stuff was going out as quickly as it was going in.”
Teaching assistant Kim Evans, 54, said she is worried about the impact the potholes will have on the value of her house.
“People drive down here because there’s two schools, so it is an area that is sought after," she said.
Gloucestershire County Council has acknowledged the whole road wasn't fixed and that it hopes to finish the street in the next financial year.
The 160m stretch of Caernarvon Road from the junctions with Salisbury Avenue to Hulbert Crescent was filled in, but there are another 800 metres worth of potholes on Caernarvon Road from the junctions of Salisbury Avenue to Alma Road.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: “It’s good news that our crews have recently resurfaced part of Caernavon Road as part of our further £100m highways investment. This road was identified last year and added to our resurfacing schedule.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on Caernarvon Road between Broad Oak Way and Alma Road and noticed the deterioration over this winter. Making the best use of our planned resources means we weren’t able to change the programme at the last minute and extend the section of Caernarvon Road at this time.
“However, we’re pleased to announce that Caernarvon Road between Broad Oak Way and Alma Road is in the programme to be resurfaced in the next financial year. In the meantime, we’ll continue to visit Caernarvon Road to ensure it remains safe for all road users.”
The UK's council debt crisis
Last month, analysis by the BBC of government figures revealed that UK councils owed a combined total of £97.8bn to lenders, the equivalent of about £1,400 per resident.
The figures showed that Woking Borough Council in Surrey had debts of almost £19,000 per resident, the highest in the UK.
Birmingham City Council and Nottingham City Council are among the authorities to effectively declare themselves bankrupt in recent months.
Councils have repeatedly warned that more than a decade of funding pressures, exacerbated by rising demand and inflation, are putting vital services under severe strain.
Amid the budgetary crisis, eight councils have issued a Section 114 notice, declaring effective bankruptcy, in the last six years. No councils had done so in the proceeding 18 years.
Earlier this month, a report by the levelling up, housing and communities committee warned that a failure to increase allocations in the local government finance settlement to cover shortfalls would push services including social care and support for children with special educational needs to “breaking point”, and could lead to well-run councils going effectively bust.
Clive Betts, Labour chair of the committee, said: “There is an out-of-control financial crisis in local councils across England. The government must use the local government financial settlement to help bridge the £4bn funding gap for 2024-25 or risk already strained council services becoming stretched to breaking point. If the government fails to plug this gap, well-run councils could face the very real prospect of effectively going bust.”
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