FRUSTRATED residents are calling for the resurfacing of what one of them said was the worst road surface in Knutsford.

The claim comes from Eric Waller, the longest resident in Beeston Drive, where residents have been calling for many years for Cheshire East to lay a new road surface.

Beeston Drive is a cul de sac, and the top layer of the road surface has worn away on the main stretch from the junction with Bexton Lane, exposing the hardcore layer beneath.

Residents say they feel left behind by Cheshire East when they see other roads being resurfaced, and are concerned over potential damage to cars from vibrations when driving over the broken-up surface.

They also say the surface is dangerous for cyclists, adults and children, and count themselves lucky there has not been an accident.

The residents contacted the Guardian about the condition of the road after the issue was raised at a town council meeting by Cllr Mike Houghton.

Eric Waller has lived in Beeston Drive for 49 years, having moved in when the houses were built.

He said: “The road surface is completely gone in big areas down the middle.

“What you’re seeing now is the under foundation – the hardcore that’s put in before the asphalt.

Knutsford Guardian:

The road surface in Beeston Drive. Picture by Julie Whelan

“The road was never adequate in the first place, but that doesn’t excuse the council not doing something about it. I counted at one time about 40 holes, and a lot them have merged.”

He said Cheshire East officers had inspected the road regularly, but the council’s criteria for repairing a hole was that it needed to be at least two inches deep.

He added: “If there’s one that deep they are obliged to fill it in, but although there are many holes none of them is two inches deep.

“You are rumbling over it all the time in your car, and I come up and down in first gear because it’s awful.

“I also ride a bike regularly although I’m nearly 80, and at night-time it’s a nightmare.”

Mr Waller is a Good Neighbours driver, taking people to hospital for GPs, and said he knew all the roads in Knutsford.

He said: “The council have repaired numerous cul de sacs in Knutsford which weren’t as bad as ours.

“We’ve got the worst road surface in Knutsford without doubt, and it’s at least 12 years since they’ve done any patching on this road, which is atrocious.

“I’ve nearly given up complaining to the council, and it’s the younger people who are trying to do something about it now.”

Fellow Beeston Drive resident Natalie Normanton said the road had been ‘a mess’ since she moved there 11 years ago.

She said: “Some of my neighbours have been contacting the council for many years, but I had never written to the council until now.

“A neighbour’s car went in with exhaust problems, and the mechanic said vibrations from the road surface were causing damage.

“In addition a lot of children play and cycle on the road with it being a cul de sac, and a lot of residents cycle along it.

“My neighbour across the road has been complaining to the council for 10 years, but nothing has been done during the whole time I have been here - I am frustrated and massively disappointed.

“It looks like a really badly-maintained private road, but this is a public highway, and it seems the council has written it off.

“We have to rely on the council to maintain our road, and it is not doing anything about it.”

The Guardian is to seek a comment from Cheshire East Council.