Agenda item

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

• The petitioners were happy to report that they had some very satisfied residents from Montcalm Close. Residents did consider that work had been done. No work had been done at Wolfe Close, which needed to be urgently looked at. There were contrasts in the road.
• Wolfe Close needed work urgently, as in contrast to Montcalm which had been repaired through emergency repairs.
• The problems in the area had an effect, so the petitioners supported any measure which would help to improve this.
• Cllr Burrows shared the concerns with Cllr Major in a site visit last year.
• The petitioners felt that the improvements would of had a quality of life and well-being impact if it was looked at as soon as possible.
• They would be open to meeting with Cllr Burrows to look at where they are now in the area.
• There is not a road in Barnhill Ward that had any resurfacing works in 3 years.
• Petitioners were frustrated that they had not heard anything since the road safety programme.

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

There are 410 miles of road in the Borough that they have funding of £2.5 million to maintain. It is the cost that drives things.

He had driven across the Borough and a lot of areas visited. Annual Review was done by UKPMS, both of these areas were further down the list on priority.

The reason in the delay of road maintenance was due to the severe weather in the winter.

The Council needs to look at roads which are most dangerous before other roads. It will look at desirable after essential repairs.

The Council was looking into Chatsworth Road but still needed to look at it in more detail. This was unrelated to this item. Everything would be taken into consideration. It would be discussed next Monday in greater detail. The Cabinet Member appreciated the frustration this may of caused amongst residents. 

Resolved - 

That the Cabinet Member:

1. Noted that officers had carried out a detailed assessment and that they recommend that Wolfe Close and be Montcalm Close be considered for resurfacing during a future programme.
2. Moved the recommendation to see if there is additional funding and for officers are to explore possible resources to fund this work.

Reasons For Recommendation

The existing carriageway surfaces had deteriorated to the extent that shallow fretting had taken place in isolated areas of both Montcalm Close and Wolfe Close. The failure is due to the natural ageing of the bitmac surface which had slowly disintegrated after an estimated life of 30 to 40 years. Past patching had filled some of the worst fretting but only as a temporary measure. The worst area at the entrance to Montcalm Close had recently (April 2009) been partly resurfaced to eliminate any hazards in the area. The limited patching that had been carried out in the past had a detrimental effect to ride quality, particularly for cyclists. Resurfacing would of provided a smoother, safer riding surface, maintained the asset value of the highways and improved the visual aspect of the streets.

Alternative Options Considered

Officers considered that the carriageway surface was beyond normal patching repair and that resurfacing was the only option available.

Relevant Ward:

BARNHILL