County blasted over '˜appalling' pothole repairs at Rasen meeting

Coun Hugo Marfleet was speaking at a meeting of Market Rasen Town Council last Wednesday.

Lincolnshire County Council spends over three million pounds repairing potholes every year.

However, Coun Marfleet, whose Louth Wolds ward includes several villages in the Market Rasen area, claims the current system for repairs is ‘a waste and inefficient’

He described one section of repairs carried out in Rasen as ‘absolutely appalling.’

He said: “My view is when it comes to potholing we don’t do it very well.

“We tend to sort of send out a vehicle with a few people in it who throw a bit of tarmac into it and then back over it a few times and call it job done.

“It causes me pain, it upsets people and the public. It is a waste and it is inefficient.”

Coun Marfleet went on to make reference to potholing work which had been carried out in Rasen.

He told town councillors: “I said if that is what they call quality potholing, I said it is absolutely appalling.

“In effect, you would trip over the pothole because it is that badly laid.

“To be fair, I don’t think it justifies Market Rasen. We shouldn’t have to look at road repairs like that.”

Coun Marfleet then went on to discuss alternative methods which can be used by the County Council to deal with potholes.

He said: “We can do it better.

“There is a machine that blows in hot tarmac that leaves it much better, flatter, and it would look a better job.”

Coun Lewis Strange had a more positive outlook on potholing during his report at the meeting.

He said: “I was with Steve Wiles (Area Highways Manager) the other day.

“I highlighted the need to try and get the road from Market Rasen to Tealby resurfaced in the next year.

“The very bad is from the Walesby Road junction through to where the farm shop is and that really does need doing. It is in a very bad way. I also want them to try and do the patch from Tealby to Bully Hill Top.

“Actually, we have got quite a lot resurfaced over the last few months. A lot of the C-roads down towards Revesby Moor and East and West Torrington and have been resurfaced. Potholes are being repaired better than they were I think.”

Potholes: The cost to county

Lincolnshire had one of the ‘deepest’ pot-hole problems among all authorities in the East Midlands in 2016.

Leading motoring website Confused.com, used a Freedom of Information request to obtain details of all pothole repairs carried out in the East Midlands.

Based on 2016 figures, problems with 8,864 potholes were reported in Lincolnshire, resulting in the County Council having to spend £3,180,132 on repair work.

An additional £84,811 was paid in compensation for the same period.