Potholed road patched 218 times still 'dangerous'

Roads surrounding a Herefordshire settlement remain "dangerous" despite being patched over more than 200 times since 2023, at a cost of more than £10,000.

A Priory Wood resident has started a petition calling for "a full resurfacing" of the area's roads, adding that Herefordshire Council "do an absolutely shocking job".

It was revealed through a freedom of information request sent to the authority that there had been 218 "patching jobs" since 2023, carried out on 17 visits by contractors, which had a total cost of £10,503.69.

In response, a Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: "The costings are an estimate based on averages as we don't hold costs for individual sites/visits."

The council's cabinet member for roads, Councillor Barry Durkin, also told fellow members last week: "We have got many, many pothole teams out there working hard on our highways.

"Unfortunately, the potholes have grown exponentially this winter."

The petition has 27 signatures so far and runs until 24 March.

The resident responsible wrote that the surrounding roads had "increasingly become dangerous due to extensive potholes and poor rainwater drainage".

They added: "A constant cycle of temporary repairs has failed and is not cost effective."

Another local, speaking anonymously, said: "We just want to be able to travel safely. We have high council tax rates, but what do we get for it?"

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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