Long-term fix needed in county's 'pothole capital'

2 hours ago

Will Glennon,Devizesand

Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley,West of England

News image — Jonathan Hunter has called Devizes the "pothole capital" of Wiltshire

BBC A bald man with glasses wearing a black t-shirt and black unzipped jacket stands next to station road in Devizes where there is large scale visible degradation to the road surface beside him — Jonathan Hunter has called Devizes the "pothole capital" of Wiltshire

A councillor has called for a long-term plan to improve the roads in a town he has dubbed the "pothole capital" of the county.

Jonathan Hunter has said he wants to see a better deal for Devizes residents who need a solution that does not involve short-term "fixes".

"We want to really focus on the longevity, sustainability approach where we see a plan which is visible to residents," he said.

Martin Smith, Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said long periods of rain, along with freezing and thawing, and "years of underfunding" from the government had "wreaked havoc" on the roads.

He added that the council planned to double spending on maintaining its 5,000 miles (8,040km) of roads using extra government funding and assured residents that its repair teams had been working flat out to fix potholes.

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A two lane road with 6 potholes of varying size clearly visible in the tarmac with double yellow lines in the foreground next to the kerb — Road users have reported damage to their vehicles around Devizes

Smith explained that in 2021 and 2022 the council had been spending just over £20m in government funding "on preventative maintenance".

"In the coming years we'll be spending double that," he added.

According to the council, more than 18,500 potholes have been reported this year - three times the number of last year.

Council workers and parish stewards were recently asked to focus solely on pothole repairs.

A man wearing glasses, with greying hair, a grey jacket and a pink shirt stands in front of County Hall in Trowbridge — Martin Smith said damage had been exacerbated by recent weather conditions

Hunter said the state of the roads, in what he called "Wiltshire's pothole capital", had caused "expensive damage" to cars and was affecting pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

The council said its teams had been using "bobcat" machines which cut away the old surface allowing a new one to be laid using a paver.

A large machine called a paver is spreading fresh tarmac onto the prepared road surface making it look like new — The council said pothole repair teams had been working overtime

Chris Clark, the council's head of local highways, saidthis approach had been "very encouraging" producing results that "last longer".

"We would expect this type of repair to last in the region of eight to 10 years before we had to come back with any preventive maintenance, which could then extend the life of the road, possibly for another 10 or 12 years after that."

A Department for Transport spokesperson previously said: "Historic underinvestment has made it difficult for authorities to maintain their roads."

They added that the South West would receive £1.5bn in funding over the next four years - with £161m going to Wiltshire Council - to help deal with potholes.

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