Pothole situation ‘totally unacceptable’ claims council leader

A COUNCIL leader has said there are 3,000 potholes in the county and claimed the company responsible for filling them has no idea where the holes are or if they have been filled.

The news emerged after a meeting was held last week at Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), between members of the advisory group, which monitors the contract for Ringway, who carry out highways work of behalf of HCC.

Leader of Stevenage Borough Council Sharon Taylor, who is a member of the group, said: “It emerged that 3,000 potholes in the county have been reported, but Ringway have no record if they have been fixed or not. This is totally unacceptable, this is a reporting issue. We already know there were issues with the old system of reporting. Something needs to be done about this, because you can’t just leave them as they are.”

Last week the Comet reported less than half of “urgent” potholes reported this year were dealt with within 24 hours.

Although 187 potholes requiring urgent action were reported in Stevenage between January 1 and May 19 this year, 91 were repaired within 24 hours – the time in which HCC recommends they should be dealt with on its website.

Just under two-thirds were repaired in North Herts, and 59 per cent countywide.

The response figures, obtained by the Comet under the Freedom of Information Act, are all worse than the same period last year, where 70 per cent of serious potholes were repaired urgently in North Herts, 76 per cent in Stevenage, and 78 per cent countywide.

A spokesman for Ringway said: “The number quoted to us relates to open enquiries and not potholes alone. An enquiry can come into us from the online reporting system and can be anything from gully cleaning to putting down yellow lines.”