Call for action on Pendle's pothole plague

Local councillors are calling on the county council to act urgently to curb a growing pothole plaque across the borough.
Skipton Road, ColneSkipton Road, Colne
Skipton Road, Colne

Hundreds of potholes have been reported to the county highways department by the Liberal Democrat team in recent days to try and “stop the rot” on local roads.

County Coun. David Whipp said: “Many roads in Pendle are literally falling apart.

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“Huge craters are appearing with no apparent action to repair them.

Skipton Road, FoulridgeSkipton Road, Foulridge
Skipton Road, Foulridge

“Tyres and suspensions are being damaged and lives put at risk.

“In some cases, conditions are so bad the County Council needs to consider closing certain routes until repairs are carried out.

“Busy main roads have massive holes in them and the motorway is falling apart as well.

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“Regent Street by ASDA is in terrible condition and it’s a competition of misery as to which road is worse.

Regent Street, NelsonRegent Street, Nelson
Regent Street, Nelson

“Skipton Old Road over the tops from Colne towards Skipton is so bad, many motorists are refusing to use it and residents are even calling for it to be closed to through traffic until repairs are done.”

Coun. Whipp has logged over 50 “pothole plague” locations with Lancashire County Council since the beginning of the year.

He added: “Many places have scores of individual potholes, so the total number reported will be several hundred; goodness knows how they are going to get a grip on this.”

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Coun. Dorothy Lord added: “The condition of the roads is going backwards, despite the promise of the Conservative candidates in the County Council elections last year to spend millions of pounds extra on road repairs in the borough.

Skipton Road, FoulridgeSkipton Road, Foulridge
Skipton Road, Foulridge

“Now they seem to be nowhere to be seen.

“Resurfacing due to be carried out on many residential streets has been cancelled or postponed. Motorists and residents are rightly furious that little or nothing is being done by the new Conservative administration at County Hall to sort out the potholes – especially after all the promises.”

The Liberal Democrat team is encouraging residents and motorists to report potholes to the County Council using the www.lancashire.gov.uk website or emailing [email protected].

Responding, County Coun. Andrew Snowden, lead member for highways and transport on Lancashire County Council, said: “We’ve had a lot of wet and freezing weather which is why people are seeing more potholes at the moment, however we’re working hard to fix them as soon as we can.

Regent Street, NelsonRegent Street, Nelson
Regent Street, Nelson
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“The county council’s cabinet agreed to put an extra £5m into the budget to invest in roads in July last year, with £2m of this going towards improving the way we repair potholes.

“For example if we are called out to a pothole but find others in close proximity we fix all of them rather than just the one reported to us, and we’re due to pilot a new way of working where a team searches for and repairs potholes on those roads where our records show most are appearing.

“A £3m annual resurfacing programme restores roads, helping to prevent potholes appearing in the first place, and Skipton Old Road is due to be considered for surface dressing in the coming year.

“If approved, this will significantly improve its condition by patching the worst damage before coating with tar and chippings to seal and waterproof the surface.”