'˜Dangerous' potholes in Skegness filled after social media outcry

The Mayor of Skegness is asking why it took a protest on social media flagging up a '˜dangerous' potholed road before it was repaired.
Potholes in Kennedy Avenue, that started a protest by Mayor of Skegness, Coun Danny Brookes. ANL-181004-092928001Potholes in Kennedy Avenue, that started a protest by Mayor of Skegness, Coun Danny Brookes. ANL-181004-092928001
Potholes in Kennedy Avenue, that started a protest by Mayor of Skegness, Coun Danny Brookes. ANL-181004-092928001

A team from Lincolnshire County Council were in Kennedy Avenue on Monday repairing the potholes, described by one resident as looking like a ‘bombed out runway’. Mayor Danny Brookes had shared images of the road on the Skegness the Return and Skegness, Skegness Skegness Facebook pages on Friday, asking ‘Is this the worst road in the country?’

He commented: ‘Our roads have never been this bad – this is a disgrace’, claiming leader Martin Hill was ‘letting Lincolnshire down’.

Highways filling potholes in Kennedy Avenue, Skegness. ANL-181104-082536001Highways filling potholes in Kennedy Avenue, Skegness. ANL-181104-082536001
Highways filling potholes in Kennedy Avenue, Skegness. ANL-181104-082536001

Resident Robert Curtis said: “Looks like a bombed out runway. Did they use the back wheel of a truck to pat it down as it has a few tyre marks embedded?.”

And Sharon Hughes-Lycett said: “ We’ve been reporting our roads in Burgh for months.....NO ONE IS LISTENING.”

On Monday, Coun Brookes said he was relieved to see Highways repairing the road, adding: “Residents have been complaining about potholes for nine months. They were near an infant school and a danger to children tripping and parents with pushchairs. I’m pleased that Highways are finally dealing with the problem in Kennedy Avenue, but it should not take me going on social media for something to happen.”

Coun Richard Davies, Lincolnshire County Council’s executive member for highways, said: “Although we appreciate the frustration regarding Kennedy Avenue, it’s important that we deal with the potholes on busier routes first, as these are potentially the most dangerous.

Coun Danny Brookes. ANL-181004-092957001Coun Danny Brookes. ANL-181004-092957001
Coun Danny Brookes. ANL-181004-092957001

“The potholes on the road have now been filled, but we are planning to come back to resurface the road completely as part of our longer-term work programme.

“While we ensure that all our county councillors have the opportunity to meet or speak with their local highways officer on a monthly basis, we do ask town and parish councils to initially report issues through our fault reporting system or to raise matters with our elected members.

“That means our highways officers can spend as much of their time as possible on getting our roads fixed.

“Recently, the council agreed to invest a further £12m in highways maintenance for this year to help tackle the unusually large number of potholes created by the winter weather.

Highways filling potholes in Kennedy Avenue, Skegness. ANL-181104-082536001Highways filling potholes in Kennedy Avenue, Skegness. ANL-181104-082536001
Highways filling potholes in Kennedy Avenue, Skegness. ANL-181104-082536001

“While this is a step in the right direction, it is nowhere near the hundreds of millions of pounds we’d need to bring our roads up to the standard we’d like.

“What is really needed is for Lincolnshire to receive fairer funding from the government, which is something we are campaigning for hard.

“If councils here received the average funding for council areas in England, the region would benefit from £116 million of extra funding for services every year – some of which could be used towards highways repairs. That would make a massive difference.”