Delays in fixing potholes and other road repairs are ‘getting worse’ since Rochdale council took highway maintenance back in-house, it has been claimed. The authority ditched contractor Balfour Beatty in March this year in a move bosses said would give it more ‘control and flexibility’ over the ‘vital service’.
Chiefs also claimed the change would be more cost-effective in the long-term and support the council’s green agenda by bringing modern and efficient machinery into its fleet. But there were claims the new set-up was failing to deliver when the full council met on Wednesday night.
Coun Andy Kelly, said it was taking an ‘absolutely ridiculous’ amount of time for the council to carry out road repairs. “Why does it take two years to get anything done in our ward?” asked the Milnrow councillor and Lib Dem leader.
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Coun Kelly and his ward colleagues held a bizarre two-year birthday party for a Milnrow pothole last year - but he said the issue was not a laughing matter. “We might make light of traffic lights at the end of Newhey, but there were three businesses that nearly went bust in a fortnight because we waited until the schools went back to close the village at one end,” he told the meeting. "A ridiculous, ridiculous decision.”
Coun Aftab Hussain, assistant portfolio holder for highways and housing, suggested Coun Kelly should report matters through the proper channels, rather than going to the press or using social media. This drew an angry response from the Lib Dems, who claimed it was out of order. Coun Kelly also said he done this without success.
Coun Ashley Dearnley told the meeting the issue wasn’t isolated to Milnrow and warranted ‘serious discussion’ by the council.“After the changes, we were led to believe things would be so much better,” he told the meeting.
“You have to allow time for these things to bed in, but it doesn’t seem to be happening.” The Conservative said that road markings scheduled for Littleborough did not happen until the end of the summer - and then the job was only partially completed.
“I brought this up and I’ve still not had a satisfactory [response],” he said.”It’s these things we all ultimately get judged on as a council.”
Coun Dearnley, who represents Wardle and West Littleborough, also said he had followed all the ‘necessary procedures’ when it came to reporting issues. “I do think we need to seriously find out what the problem is - because there is one, and we need to tackle it,” he added.
“Things should be better, as we were led to believe, and they do appear to be worse I’m afraid.”
Council leader Neil Emmott promised councillors he would speak to highways bosses and relay the message that members are ‘raising a number of concerns and they have to be addressed’. Rochdale full council met at Number One Riverside on Wednesday night (October 19).
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