As the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and a resident of the borough, I take the issue of potholes extremely seriously.
They annoy and frustrate me and I know from talking to residents that they are a cause for concern for them as well. But the subject of potholes is far more complicated than this column makes out.
READ MORE: Column: The shocking state of Bexley’s pothole-ridden roads
We have a dedicated and hardworking team of engineers and a very robust inspection regime.
The team work hard to keep our borough running smoothly and part of that is to rectify potholes.
In common with local authorities across the country, we have to recognise that we do not have limitless funds and must make decisions based on what we do have.
So far, we have only seen £223k – one quarter – of the £895k that Mr Francis’ Government has promised us for highway work. In a borough with 571 km of roads, this doesn’t go far.
Councillor Richard Diment (Image: Bexley Council)
Mr Francis has exaggerated the figures around roads needing urgent attention. In fact, having compared our roads with neighbouring boroughs’ transparency figures, we are in good condition.
Mr Francis’ campaign to report each and every pothole he comes across is a truly noble one – but he has failed to consider the work he creates as a result of this. Our policy is to investigate these reports to ensure public safety and each one must be investigated by a Highway Technician.
The majority of the issues Mr Francis has so far reported as potholes have not needed fixing.
If a pothole is 40mm deep and 200mm wide, it is classed as urgent and dealt with as a matter of emergency. The non urgent ones can be 31 to 39mm in depth and could be of any width.
These are repaired either through isolated minor repairs or via a resurfacing programme (a bigger patch of road is dug up and a larger reconstruction is carried out).
This extends the life of a wider section of the road. More information about this can be found on the Council’s website.
Rather than helping the team, Mr Francis’ campaign is causing work that takes them away from highway, road cleansing and fly tipping issues that need to be addressed and corrected – and runs the risk of drowning out reports from our residents, who are excellent at raising matters through FixMyStreet to help us identify problems.
I would urge Mr Francis to talk to our Highway Team about his concerns and find out how he can help by working with our reporting process, rather than playing games by bombarding them with requests.
Letter in response to ‘The Daniel Francis Column’ dated July 23.
