Residents in Gloucestershire have been left confused after their local council fixed only part of their pothole-covered road, claiming they didn’t have enough money to complete the job.
Caernarvon Road in Cheltenham was supposedly due for repairs following ongoing complaints about its poor condition. But to the residents’ surprise, only a 160m stretch was mended, leaving around 800m still riddled with up to 50cm deep holes.
When asked why, the council confirmed it was making the “best use of our planned resources” and that the rest would be done in the “next financial year”.
Consequently, those living further down fear the residual craters will inflict harm on the value of their homes. Some have even claimed they’ve had to stop cycling due to safety concerns.
Helen Taylor, a maths tutor residing in the affected area, criticised the council’s “fairly random” approach to fixing potholes.
She said: “We were told it couldn’t be resurfaced because of cost.”
Helen added: “I stopped cycling because it was too dangerous. I don’t know if it’s a puddle or a pothole.”
Meanwhile, Norman Freeman, an 82-year-old ex-BT engineer, lives on the section of the road that remains uncomfortably bumpy.
He 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.”
Bus driver Angus Morton, 75, complained that the repair workers take too long, saying repairs take “two, three, four hours to do about four holes.”
Last year, he reported to Gloucestershire County Council about a team that “filled two potholes and parked up for 50 minutes”.
Ingrid Harris, 61, mentioned that the bad weather undoes all the repair work.
She observed: “The stuff was going out as quickly as it was going in.”
Kim Evans, 54, is worried about how the potholes might lower her house’s value.
“People drive down here because there’s two schools, so it is an area that is sought after,” she explained.
However, as a teaching assistant, she now takes another route to school to dodge the potholes.
The part of Caernarvon Road between Salisbury Avenue and Hulbert Crescent got fixed – that’s about 160m.
But the problem with bumps on Caernarvon Road stretches from Salisbury Avenue to Alma Road – and that’s around 800m.
A representative for Gloucestershire County Council shared: “It’s good news that our crews have recently resurfaced part of Caernavon Road as part of our further £100million 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.”
