State of roads and car parks is 'bordering on the criminal'

Parish councillors agreed at this week's meeting that the state of the roads in the village and the number of potholes is an absolute disgrace.

Cllr Melanie Connor also raised concerns about whether the Council is taking any notice of their online system for reporting potholes and pointed out that the roads in areas such as Sandbach and Crewe, where Cheshire East Council has offices, are considerably better than in Alderley Edge.

She said "You can go on to Cheshire Highways website and report potholes in your areas but I am convinced its not being looked at by anyone in Cheshire East. I am very worried about the whole process.

"For example, they were supposed to come along and look at the situation at the bottom of Windermere Drive and Chorley Hall Lane. Apparently two men turned up, looked angry, sat in the van for two hours and drove off and that was it - and they haven't been back."

Speaking to Cllr Frank Keegan, Cllr Connor said "You drive to Sandbach once a week at least, you must know that the road from Holmes Chapel to Chelford looks as though a bomb has been dropped around Goostrey. Funnily enough a little one (pothole) appeared in Sandwich last week and it was filled in today.

"We used to laugh when this happened in Macclesfield but I can see it is happening in Sandbach and Crewe and surrounding areas. There is a point where you come just through Holmes Chapel and the whole of the road system changes and the nearer you get to Alderley the worse it gets and the streets of Alderley are ten times as worse as the streets of Sandbach and I think it is a disgrace.

"As our councillor I would like you go to Highways and tell them it is not good enough. You can put all you like on the website telling them to put in their potholes and their streets but it means nothing if you don't fill them in."

Cllr Melanie Connor added "The problem is Highways will tell you they can't do it because they can't afford it - instead of just putting temporary fillers in they need to do it properly.

"Whole stretches of road need to be redone. It must cost more in the long run to keep doing a risk assessment for every little whole, as I am sure they do a risk assessment for every little whole, time and time and time again."

Cllr Keegan responded "According to the latest information the potholes cost £22, at least that's what I assume if they filled 46,000 potholes for a £1 million that works out about £22, whereas if you take Stamford Road, that was done a year or two back, that stretch cost £8000. So that's an awful lot more than £22."

Cllr Mary Maczkowiak commented "There's a similar stretch on the estate. I joke about it and say we are down to the stone but we're actually down to the original Victorian road, the tarmac has completely gone in places. It keeps getting reported and basically nothing's ever done so I would really appreciate for the residents there... It's really about time, we pay enough money."

Cllr Melanie Connor added "The two car parks look like they've been bombed."

Cllr Mary Maczkowiak responded "I thought I'd lost a wheel in the car park at the back, my whole wheel went into the puddle."

Cllr Keegan commented "This is one of the issues which is absolutely bordering on the criminal because all the parking fines that are raised are meant to be for road issues and the tarmac and car parks, at the very least ought to be maintained to a satisfactory level. This one at the park and South Street are a disgrace."

Cheshire East Council announced a war on potholes last month, which will be boosted by a £25 million cash investment over the next two years.

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.

Speaking about the additional funds, Cllr Nigel Schofield commented "We need to put our bids in quickly."

Tags:

Cheshire East Council, Parish Council, Potholes