New Cabinet member wages war on potholes

CongWest David Topping

Councillor David Topping has been announced as Cheshire East Council's new Cabinet member in charge of the environment, replacing Councillor Rod Menlove, who resigned last week.

His first job will be to lead the Council's war on potholes, which will be boosted by a £25 million cash investment over the next two years.

Severe flooding, which caused the second wettest year on record in the UK, has put huge strain on the roads and the Council is now working to radically improve the Borough's highway network.

The Council has repaired more than 46,000 potholes since April 1st 2012, at a cost of £1 million and now aims to fix another 42,000 by the end of this summer.

To help with the battle against potholes, Cheshire East Council's highways team continues to use the Velocity patcher, which uses a blend of bitumen and chippings that are passed through a hose at high speed from a maintenance vehicle.

Councillor Topping said: "Successive bad winters and under-investment by the former Cheshire County Council has left our roads in a bad way.

"Now, Cheshire East Council is working extremely hard to keep the network in a safe condition.

"I am honoured and delighted to take on the environment portfolio, which is in a good condition thanks to the hard work of Councillor Menlove, to whom I would like to pay tribute to for his achievements."

Currently ward member for Congleton West, Councillor Topping has been a borough councillor since 2004 and has spent some of that time as a portfolio holder for the former Congleton Borough Council.

He is also a member of Cheshire Fire Authority and was its chairman for three years up until 2012.

He added: "With road conditions deteriorating and new potholes forming rapidly, the Council is experiencing a backlog of defects so we must prioritise repairs during the remaining winter months.

"This means busy commuter routes will be treated before, say, residential cul-de-sacs which have less traffic.

"But we are determined to get on top of the problem using the latest technology Velocity patcher combined with traditional highway patching and maintenance activities.

"By adopting this approach, we are expecting to address more than 42,000 potholes by the end of summer and resolve a significant number of defects that have formed in residential areas that can't be treated during the winter months."

The money will be spent during the next two years and includes more than £2 million secured from the Chancellor's Autumn Statement for national road improvements.

During the past three weeks, the Council's dedicated hotline to report potholes across the network has received more than 2,000 enquiries from road users and the Council is grateful to them for taking the time to report defects.

The backlog of defects currently being experienced is higher than it typically would be, thanks mainly to 2012 being the second wettest on record in the UK.

Residents are being asked to report any defects to Cheshire East's online fault reporting page or by phoning the highways team on 0300 123 5020.

Photo: Councillor David Topping.

Tags:
Cheshire East Council, Potholes
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Marc Asquith
Monday 14th January 2013 at 6:19 pm
lol - under-investment by Cheshire County Council - yet the state of the roads is worse than it has been for years - patches fail after a short time and many road remain unrepaired.

And if it's not CCC's fault - then its the floods, cold winters and the fact that roads are residential in nature.

I guess getting started with your excuses is the way to go :-))))
Vin Sumner
Tuesday 15th January 2013 at 4:27 pm
maybe it would help if everyone drove lighter cars , and didn't drive on pavements
Sarah Lane
Tuesday 15th January 2013 at 8:36 pm
The roads really are in a shocking state. They are dangerous in places. I was behind a driver who swerved to avoid a huge pot hole and they nearly had a head on with the car on the other side of the road. If they had received regular repairs as and when needed and not just loose chippings thrown down perhaps they would not be in the state they are now. The weather might have played its part but it's down to lack of maintenance over time that's caused most of the damage.
Marina McHugh
Tuesday 15th January 2013 at 11:19 pm
This is just a sticking plaster when major road refurbishment is necessary. The roads in this village have been neglected. This includes the pavements which have not been touched for over twenty years. Nynex dug up the pavements and they have never been renewed since.
Graham Hallworth
Wednesday 16th January 2013 at 1:37 pm
Come and live in Kenya. I will show you a few pot holes that are the size of the Ngorongoro Crater. They swallow trucks never to be seen again.

I was back in Alderley Over Christmas and was asked why i don't drive around the pot holes? Its simply because I am used to so many, that I would double my carbon foot print if I had to drive around them.

Seriously, I was disappointed by the state of the roads and pavements in Alderley and its becoming a third world environment.