Sort this hole mess out (From Knutsford Guardian)

Sort this hole mess out

4:30pm Wednesday 16th January 2013 in News By James Wilson

THE Guardian is calling on council officials to repair Knutsford’s battered roads.

In recent months the town’s streets have gradually got worse and repairs to holes have only lasted for a short period of time.

Clr Michael Jones, at a meeting in Knutsford in October 2012, pledged that an extra £25million over the next two years would be spent repairing the borough’s highways.

After an appeal in last week’s Guardian, readers have contacted us with pictures and descriptions of the town’s worst pot hole blackspots.

As a result, we have set up a ‘Pothole of the Week’ in a bid to alert council bosses to the location and extent of the damage to the road.

Roads in a particularly bad state include Gaskell Avenue, Leycester Road, Church Hill, Grove Park, Bexton Road, Meadow Drive and Mobberley Road.

On Monday, Cheshire East Council announced Clr David Topping as the new environment portfolio member of the cabinet, replacing Clr Rod Menlove who resigned in the wake of the Lyme Green waste plant debacle in Macclesfield.

Clr Topping said that under investment by the former authority Cheshire County Council and bad weather had left the town’s roads in a ‘bad way’.

“With road conditions deteriorating and new potholes forming rapidly, the council is experiencing a backlog of defects so we must prioritise repairs during the remaining winter months,” he said.

“This means busy commuter routes will be treated before, say, residential cul-de-sacs which have less traffic. But we are determined to get on top of the problem using the latest technology Velocity patcher combined with traditional highway patching and maintenance activities.

“By adopting this approach, we are expecting to address more than 42,000 potholes by the end of summer and resolve a significant number of defects that have formed in residential areas that can’t be treated during the winter months.”

Report a pothole to the council at:http://cheshireeasthighways.org/Roadworks-Centre/Potholes.aspx