Residents in Glossop have expressed growing concerns about the increasing number of potholes that have appeared across the town.
According to a recent study done by the RAC, Derbyshire has the most potholes per region with around 90,596.
Frustrated individuals have taken to social media to share their opinions and experiences, with some reporting instances of punctured tires, split tyres and snapped suspensions. Many have labelled the road conditions as "shocking" and "dangerous for drivers."
Some of the pothole black spots are Padfield Main Road, where a resident had split her tyre, the bottom of Brookfield where a resident had burst their tyre and Newshaw Lane where the potholes snapped a car's suspension. Other hotspots are Dinting Road, Ebenezer Street, Chapel Road and Leicester Drive in Glossop.
Earlier this year, Deputy Leader of High Peak Borough Council, Damien Greenhalgh, addressed the issue saying: "I've never witnessed the proliferation of potholes being as severe as it currently is across Glossopdale. Like other residents and local councillors, I've been diligent in reporting them. However, it's taking the highway maintenance team increasingly longer to address these issues. Numerous individuals have suffered tire damage due to incidents like the recent encounter with a sizable pothole on Station Rd in Hadfield."
Greenhalgh highlighted the financial challenges faced by Derbyshire County Council, emphasising the urgency for a revamped approach to road maintenance. He stated, "With Derbyshire County Council's finances in dire straits and the repairs often providing temporary, lasting only a week or two in some cases, we must reconsider our strategy. Continuously filling the same potholes and compensating drivers for damages is likely costing more in the long run."
Local MP Robert Largan also shared his thoughts on the state of the roads, calling them “unacceptable”. He added: “That’s why I pushed so hard to help secure an extra £176 million of funding for roads and potholes for Derbyshire.”
“I want to see this extra money spent wisely by the Council, with a proper plan for resurfacing roads instead of just constantly filling the same potholes over and over again.”
A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We understand the current frustrations over potholes and road conditions in Glossop and across the County.
“Our highways teams are working hard to carry out as many repairs as quickly as they can. We’ve got up to 25 reactive teams who have been filling over 2000 potholes a week since the start of the year, and have as many teams as possible out 7 days a week. We’ve also got extra teams out working on sectional resurfacing, and we’ve already carried out resurfacing repairs on more than a hundred hotspot sites across the county over recent months. There are also three jetpatchers out now filling potholes.
“Recent exceptional weather conditions, including last October’s Storm Babet, brought a month’s worth of rainfall in a matter of hours and caused significant damage to our highway network. On top of this, we’ve had double the usual rainfall over recent months, as well as the longer term challenge of ageing highways and reducing comparative investment over recent decades.
“So, we are also strongly making the case to the Government at all levels to highlight the challenges we’re facing and push for additional investment. We will continue to do this and hope the Government will support us in this soon.”
You can report a pothole here: https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/transport-roads/roads-traffic/report-a-road-fault/report-a-road-fault.aspx
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