Pothole repairs need a complete rethink, say West Sussex Liberal Democrats
Following a winter of unprecedented damage to West Sussex roads, which saw the county council reported in The Guardian as one of the top 10 worst areas for pothole repairs[1], Liberal Democrat councillors are bringing a Notice of Motion to West Sussex County Council on Monday 17th July asking the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport to look again at the emergency repair regime.
Cllr Kirsty Lord, Leader of West Sussex Liberal Democrats, speaking in advance of the debate, said,
“As councillors and local residents, we know that the state of West Sussex roads has angered residents especially when faced with bills to repair pothole-damaged vehicles. Years of Conservative government underfunding have been compounded by an emergency repair regime that could not cope with the difficult weather conditions last winter. Climate change means that we should expect more extreme weather events. We need a road repairs process that is fit for purpose.
“Pothole repairs now need a complete rethink and we are asking the Conservative-controlled council to urgently review their contract for repairs and look at new ways of fixing our roads. We know that voting with us may be difficult for Conservative backbench councillors, but they campaigned on this issue during the elections too and this motion can only pass with their support. Without it, we could face another winter of roads chaos.”
In addition, the Liberal Democrat motion recognises the efforts of highways officers and repair teams to respond to the significant challenges of this winter and calls on residents to be more understanding.
Cllr Lord added:
“There have been some incidents this year of highways staff and contractors being abused by residents. In one incident, threats were so bad that the team needed to leave the site before they were able to complete their repairs. This helps nobody. We know that residents are angry but directing this at contractors and highways staff is wrong, and we ask residents to not direct their anger to those fixing the problem. With this notice of motion we are looking to direct attention towards the real problem and the solutions that will make our roads safer and fix any problems quicker.”
[1] www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/17/potholes-in-england-go-unrepaired-for-up-to-18-months