Northampton residents' group launches campaign over state of roads

Members of Eastfield Residents’ Association say they were prompted into action by what they say are “inadequate repairs” to potholes by Northamptonshire County Council.

The petition “calls on the council to work closely with colleagues in the Highways Agency to address the issue”. The association claims the last time Burwood Road in Eastfield was resurfaced was 60 years ago.

Speaking on behalf of residents, Mick Preece expressed his concern as to what effect the petition would have and asked: “Will there be any action on this?”

Acting secretary Colin Bricher added: “What work they do is counter-productive as the material the hole is filled with readily breaks up, causing the hole to enlarge.”

The association says it hopes that the petition will force the county council to act and lead to a satisfactory solution to their ongoing problem.

Speaking previously on the issue of repairs to roads, a spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said the fact the holes have not been fixed may mean they are not seen as dangerous.

“Unfortunately, not all defects will be classed as safety defects since they will not be of sufficient severity to warrant action immediately, this doesn’t mean that there are no defects present.

“We appreciate that this may give the impression that we are ignoring problems, but we have to prioritise our limited maintenance funding and resources and cannot fix all defects reported to us immediately.”

For potholes on local access roads, the council will only take action if it is 50mm deep or 250mm wide.

The spokesman said: “Our priority is to keep the network safe for all road and footway users, drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike, and in practice this is achieved through our systems of regular inspections, as well as investigating reports from members of the public.”