Agenda item

Concerns, comments and suggestions raised by petitioners at the meeting included the following:

• Mr Ray Rapp spoke on behalf of the petition submitted to the Council.
• The petitioner circulated photographs to show the condition of the road on Farthings Close.
• The petitioner noted that the Council was doing a good job considering the current economic climate.
• The state of the road had got so bad that a resident had undertaken his own repairs.
• An Ambulance had had to “take it easy” on the road due to the number and depth of pot holes.
• Repairs on the road had been consistent but patching work no longer made economic sense as the road was in need of a full resurface.
• Some of the pot holes on the road were up to 2 inches deep.
• The poor quality of the road surface was causing damage vehicles and was an unsafe environment for residents.
• The petitioner noted that the condition of the pavement was also very poor and dangerous. It was requested that the Council also undertake work to repair this.
• 90% of residents of Farthings Close had signed the petition; 34 out of 36 residents.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised:

• Residents undertaking repair work to the road surface on a public highway was dangerous and illegal. All residents should be reminded that any such work should be left to the Council.
• The report and the photos provided indicated that the pot holes in the road exceeded the emergency intervention level of 40mm. Officers would be asked to undertake an inspection of the road and any holes that exceeded 40mm would be patched immediately.
• The road would be added to the Council’s resurfacing programme.
• The Council’s resurfacing programme was determined on an annual basis by the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation & Recycling. The prioritisation of roads to be resurfaced was based on an assessment of how dangerous the road surface was and on the outcome of the UK Pavement Management System structural condition surverys. The next resurfacing programme was going to be considered and in place by January/February 2013. Farthings Close would be included on this programme.
• Ward Councillors were keen to have the road resurfaced and were in support of the petition.

That the Cabinet Member:

1.            Considered the petitioners’ request and discussed with them in detail their concerns regarding the condition of the carriageway surface.

2.            Instructed officers to place Farthings Close on to the list for roads being considered for treatment in a future resurfacing programme.

3.            Instructed Officers to undertake an immediate inspection of Farthings Close and to carry out any immediate work as necessary.

Reasons for recommendation

The existing carriageway surface had started to show signs of deterioration to the extent that shallow fretting had taken place in isolated areas of the carriageway. The failure was due to the natural ageing of the bitumen surface, which was slowly disintegrating after an estimated life of 5 to 15 years.  Past patching had filled some of the worst fretting but only as a medium term measure.  The road profile was “bumpy” in places and construction joints had opened at a number of locations.  Resurfacing would improve the visual appearance of the road and improve the ride quality.  Officers would also undertake isolated repairs to the footway, which fall within the Council’s intervention levels.

Alternative options considered / risk management

Further patching works: However, this option had been discounted given the level of deterioration and that it did not offer the most economic solution.  Delaying or not undertaking certain schemes may place additional pressure on the Council’s financial resources if highway permanent repairs were not implemented in a timely manner. In many instances, the delay of the scheme may also have safety implications with possible consequent impact on the public liability insurance budget.

Officers considered that the carriageway surface was beyond normal patching repair and that resurfacing was the only option available to restore a watertight smooth surface.