Residents criticise council over 'appalling' , 'disgusting' and 'horrendous' potholes in village road near Northampton

Residents in a village near Northampton are fuming with the state of 'horrendous', 'disgusting' and 'appalling' potholes along a busy road.

Harpole residents have had to put up with potholes in the busy Carrs Way for months now after West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has failed to maintain the road.

According to Harpole Parish Council, WNC was supposed to resurface the road in August before cancelling the works.

Harpole resident Michael Marketis said: "Carrs Way was supposed to have been resurfaced a couple of months ago. Once again it was put off. The excuse, we have run out of money."

Since the cancellation by WNC the road has got worse and worse. The Chron counted over 30 potholes on the 0.25 mile stretch of road including around five large, crater-like potholes.

One woman, who wishes not to be named, said her husband was actually hospitalised after hitting a pothole and smashing his glasses into his eye.

The woman said: "My husband hit a pothole, ricocheted out of it and his glasses went into his eye. You can't dodge them. It's horrendous. He ended up breaking his arm and also having internal and external stitches. This was two weeks ago. He's off work. I'm peed off. We pay our tax to pay for the roads to be fixed, it should be sorted out. It affects people's livelihoods. He's not been able to go back to work full-time. He can't work full-time because his arm's in a sling."

Asked for views on WNC's treatment of the road, the woman said: "Absolutely astonishing. Absolutely disgusting."

In the last few weeks the road has become a cut through for motorway traffic, including lorries, because of the nearby Sandy Lane is closed as part of the Western Gate housing development, making the pothole situation worse in a very short space of time.

Resident Debbie Fitzgerald said: "The state of the road is appalling and with Sandy Lane being shut and the weather, it’s a wonder that any of us have our wheels. Worse still if you use a mobility scooter."

Another resident in the village said her daughter was driving in the dark when she hit a pothole and burst her tyre.

Another villager said: "[They are] disgusting potholes. Sometimes it's not possible to avoid them."

This newspaper asked WNC:

Why has WNC not fixed these potholes in months?

Will the council compensate people who have had their cars damaged because of the council's incompetence?

Would WNC like to say anything to the residents of Harpole?

Why has WNC allowed for Carrs Way to become a rat run for lorries and other motorway traffic? Where is the joined up thinking?

WNC has not responded to a request for comment.

According to Harpole Parish Council's website, Kier are intending on carrying out carriageway resurfacing works on behalf of WNC along the full length of Carrs Way on December 5, which will see the road closed for up to five days at off-peak times.