Council 'reducing considerable potholes backlog'

A street where a mystery gardener filled potholes with flowers last year is still in a "disgraceful condition", a resident has said.

Homeowners on Moreland Avenue, Hereford, discovered the plants in about a dozen deep holes last March, though the flowers were later removed and the holes filled in.

Resident David said, despite the council patching up damage, "it doesn't last for five minutes, it gets lifted out and you're back to square one".

However, councillor Dan Hurcomb said Herefordshire Council had spent £45m on resurfacing highways over the past year and was considering a full repair of Moreland Avenue later this year.

A new Department for Transport pothole mapping tool and traffic light rating system has given Herefordshire a rating of amber, meaning there are areas for improvement.

David described Moreland Avenue as a busy route, used as a cut-through by parents dropping off at nearby colleges.

He said he saw a cyclist hit a pothole and fall off his bike just a couple of days ago, adding: "They are very dangerous."

He added he had lived in the area for about 30 years and never seen Moreland Avenue in "such a disgraceful condition".

Hurcomb, cabinet member for local engagement and community resilience, said, although a final decision had not been made about the route, he expected its condition to make it "well up there in terms of priority".

He said the council was making changes with how it looked after its 2,000 miles (3,218km) of highways, reducing a "considerable backlog" and spending more on "proactive maintenance".

He pointed out government funding of about £11,000 per mile was "a drop in the ocean", since resurfacing each mile of A road cost "about a quarter of a million pounds".

"We can't do every road overnight but we are on a journey to do as many as possible," he said.

New contractor M Group takes on responsibility for roadworks from June, when the authority's public realm contract with Balfour Beatty ends.

Hurcomb said the change would bring a new system for reporting potholes and believed the situation will improve further.

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