Telford councillors clash over repeat repairs to potholes

Concerns about repeated repairs to potholes on Telford and Wrekin’s roads opened up divisions on the council.

One councillor claimed that a “repetitive pothole” on the borough’s key A442 road had caused “blow outs” to as least six vehicles and was “already starting to fail”.

Conservative group leader Councillor Andrew Eade and Newport independent Peter Scott both raised pothole issues at Thursday’s (February 26) meeting of the full council.

Councillor Eade (Church Aston and Lilleshall) welcomed the council’s planned investment of £103 million in transport and highways.

But he slammed the “shocking condition of parts of our road network” and said he looked forward to potholes “staying repaired”.

The council’s Labour leader hit back, attacking his Tory opponent’s record as leader in 2010.

Councillor Eade claimed that a “repetitive pothole on the A442” had been repaired “around four times last year” and one this year had “lasted around three weeks”.

“Six known vehicles suffered blow outs before it was repaired again last week,” he said.

“It has already started to fail.”

Council leader Lee Carter (Labour, Arleston and College) slammed the Conservatives for their record when they were in control from 2006 to 2011.

To mutterings of disagreement from the Tory benches Councillor Carter accused his opposite number of “hypocrisy”.

He said: “In 2010 I wasn’t a councillor but I do remember it.

“The AA quoted Telford roads as being the worst in the UK.”

Councillor Scott (Independent, Newport West) had asked the cabinet member for highways what the council is doing to make sure that potholes are “repaired to a high standard” and that repairs are “long lasting”.

Deputy leader Councillor Richard Overton (Labour, St George’s) told the meeting that more road teams had been repairing potholes “as quickly as possible”.

But he also revealed that during “periods of intense bad weather” they have to carry out “temporary repairs” to deal with risks to “immediate safety”.

Councillor Overton said: “Where a pothole presents an immediate safety risk we must act quickly to make the road safe.”

He added that full repairs are carried out on a “planned basis” once conditions allow,

“Over 98 per cent of all repairs are completed right first time,” he said.

Councillor Scott asked what residents should do if they were not happy with the results of repair work.

Councillor Overton said issues should be reported to the council so that potholes could be revisited.

Residents can report potholes directly via www.telford.gov.uk/potholes.

In the last 12 months the council received 1,749 reports of potholes but repaired nearly 3,000, the council said.