Away from the ‘A’ roads the state of many ‘normal’ roads around here – the ‘C’ class and Unclassified – which are where most of us rely on for our daily journeys, is generally pretty dire. Potholes and defects abound. And when they do get filled, is it more than someone coming along with a bucket of tarmac, pouring it into the hole and then stamping it down with a hobnail boot? OK, that may be a bit extreme, but not too extreme. Frequently the ‘repairs’ don’t make much difference – or last very long.
A recent report into spend per kilometre by area on such roads was released by Wiltshire Council for their Environment Select Committee following a sustained campaign for the release of that data by Cllr Richard Budden – who represents Tisbury and the Donheads in South Wilts.
This report showed that for our (Marlborough) area, across the recent four year period the average spend per kilometre on ‘total maintenance’ for these ‘normal’ roads the was less than half the norm for such roads across the county as a whole. The spend per kilometre for fixing such roads around in the Marlborough area was £966 per year, compared to £2,196 per year for these roads across the whole county. And our area comprises many village communities, all of whom rely on these roads.
This equates to Marlborough getting just 44% of the average maintenance spend per kilometre across the Wiltshire Council area whereas somewhere like Salisbury gets 255% of average (£4,053 per year), and Trowbridge 246% of average (£3,194 per year). The figure for Pewsey is a bit better – 65% of the county average per year (£1,432 per year, per kilometre). Better, but still 35% less than the average across the county .
This may give some explanation as to why potholes abound here, on all roads and not just on the main ‘A’ class highways. The damage to our cars is just as likely to be caused by driving along these ‘normal’ everyday roads as it is on the higher rated roads.
In Cllr Budden’s area the average spend per km was better. In South West Wiltshire it was £1,592, but still only 72% of the county average. And he regarded that as very poor.
Below is a ‘before and after’ pic taken when (on left) the defect on a ‘C’ class road was reported, and then after it had been ‘fixed’. But that prompts one obvious question – why isn’t the defect in the ‘after’ pic, ‘fixed’….? Questionable workmanship, or just done on the cheap, which fits with the declared level of spend around here. These pics were taken last year in April (on left) and later in June (right) when a bit of tarmac had been added. But enough to repair it? The picture gives the answer.
‘Technically’ this wasn’t a pothole. It was a defect of more than 50mm depth where the road had been dug up by a contractor but when getting the road back to normal, hardly any of the original ballast was put in, hence the road surface subsided. And the fix was that proverbial ‘bucket of tarmac’, but probably with some small roller to flatten it rather than just a hobnail boot.
Potholes and such defects do need to be reported as if not, how will the Council know? To report you will have to register with ‘My Wiltshire‘, then click the yellow ‘MyWilts online reporting’ button and then enter all the details of the pothole – and upload a pic. Such defects will then be checked and dealt with.
Rick Stein – 50th anniversary – classic seafood dishes at 1975 prices for a few at lunchtime
