Agenda item

Although not present at the meeting, Councillor John Hensley had provided a written statement on behalf of himself and the other two Ward Members (Councillors Ray Puddifoot and David Simmonds) which was read out by Councillor Keith Burrows.  All three Ward Members supported the petition. 

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

• Although residents believed that Copthall Road West had been in a worse state of repair, it had not been resurfaced six years ago when the work on Greenacres Avenue had been undertaken;
• Over the last six years, residents had contacted the Council to ask when the road would be resurfaced and had been told that the resources were not available to do the work;
• Council officers had inspected the road and had agreed that it needed resurfacing but it had not been added to the list of roads that were considered for inclusion on the resurfacing programme;
• During the last six years, residents advised that the road surface had deteriorated further, particularly down the centre of the carriageway, and, in some places, large areas at the side of the road had collapsed;
• Additional photographs had been taken of the carriageway on Sunday 12 September 2010 and were passed to Councillor Burrows to illustrate the poor state of the road;
• Residents expressed concern that Copthall Road West was used by vehicles as the main route from Breakspear Road South to Swakeleys Road;
• As patching work had been undertaken on the road surface, there were bumps as well as potholes and some residents were unable to open their windows in the summer as vehicles going over the uneven surface made a lot of noise;
• It was felt that the state of the road was making the area look neglected and that residents would lose the pride they had in their surroundings if the road was not resurfaced soon; and
• Concern was expressed that, when cyclists tried to go round the potholes and lumps in the road, they were often then at risk of being hit by a motor vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He had looked through the additional photographs provided by the residents and expressed concern at some of the images. 

Although Copthall Road West residents believed that their road was is a poor condition, Councillor Burrows advised that, after the harsh winter, there were some roads in the Borough that were in a worse state.  The resurfacing programme for the current year was complex as the winter had given rise to an increase in the number of petitions from residents requesting that their roads be resurfaced and the officer inspection regime had identified many others that needed work.  The additional resources that had been allocated to repair the potholes that appeared after the bad winter weather had now been exhausted.

Councillor Burrows advised that he would put Copthall Road West on the list of roads being considered for treatment in the resurfacing programme.  He would be discussing this list with officers in the next couple of weeks and would then need to seek approval from the Leader of the Council with regard to the capital release.  Councillor Burrows asked that officers visit the site to determine what further deterioration had occurred since the road’s last inspection.  If the road did not meet current standards, officers would need to patch the road pending a permanent repair.

RESOLVED:  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 Copthall Road West on to the list of roads being considered for treatment in a future resurfacing programme.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

The existing carriageway surface has deteriorated to the extent that shallow fretting has taken place in isolated areas of the carriageway.  This is due to the natural ageing of the surface and the surface dressing that has been applied over the original layer.  Past patching has filled some of the worst fretting but only as a temporary measure.  The road profile is “bumpy” in places and service trenches have sunk at a number of locations. In some small areas the surface has completely worn away exposing small areas of the original concrete surface.  This is not dangerous but does give the road a “patchwork” appearance.  Resurfacing would improve the visual appearance of the road and improve the ride surface.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

Officers consider that the carriageway surface is now beyond normal patching repair and that resurfacing is the only option available to restore a smooth surface.