Corby Council leader raises town's pothole problem

The leader of Corby Council says the authority has raised the issue of potholes in the town with Northants County Council.
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After heavy snow and persistent rain the county council’s Street Doctor service has been inundated with reports of potholes across the county.

Leader of Corby Council Cllr Tom Beattie said: “It is clear that there is a real issue in regards to the roads throughout the borough and it is a concern that we share with residents.

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“We are aware that there are some roads where residents have reported damage to their cars and where there have been safety concerns due to significant potholes in the road.

“We have therefore raised the issue with the county council to ensure this is high on their agenda and so we can update our community on the situation.

“We understand that the recent severe weather has put a real strain on road repairs and hope that the response from the county council will reassure residents that this issue is being tackled.

“As a borough council we will continue to raise these issues on our residents’ behalf and would urge the community to report any potholes to the county council via their Street Doctor so they are aware of the full picture here in Corby.”

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In response, the county council said it is experiencing between 50 and 70 per cent more defects this year and that bringing the roads up to scratch would cost at least £100m.

A council spokesman said: “This has been one of the most severe winters in recent years with three major snow events and well over 100 gritting runs carried out so far.

“This has had a heavy impact on roads not just in Corby, but countywide and indeed nationwide.

“Due to the severe winter we are experiencing 50 per cent to 70 per cent more defects than previous years.

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“As the responsible highways authority for Northamptonshire we are continuing to work to our policy, which determines the safety intervention levels.

“If a defect meets our intervention criteria then we are still undertaking repairs within timescales set out in our policy.

“Innovative methods such as the new JCB patch plane are repairing 90 sq m each day and two velocity road master machines can repair 110 sq m each per day.

“However, to bring the roads up to what would be a good standard would cost at least £100m.”