Potholes… some joy at last! But bad news for Southern Way

ON Wednesday (29 August) Labour Council Leader Mark Ingall met with Kevin Bentley, Essex County Councillor with responsibility for roads to discuss potholes, road signs and road safety in Harlow. As part of the meeting the Labour Leader drove Cllr Bentley around the town to show him first hand the many concerns that residents have been bringing to the attention of their ward Councillors.

“Harlow residents frequently complain to us about potholes” said Councillor Ingall, “it’s one of the top issues brought to our attention on the doorstep. The frustrating thing is that the responsibility for road maintenance lies with Essex County Council not with Harlow Council, so in order to improve things for our residents we have to persuade Essex to act, and that has been difficult – at times it’s seemed impossible.”

“However, this meeting with Councillor Bentley was different. He came with me to Church Leys and Northbrooks. He saw the potholed road surface and accepted that emergency repairs should be made to these estates and to Maddox Road, another estate we spoke about. His explanation was that Essex had prioritized main roads for the last few years to the detriment of estate roads, but that the time had come to change this policy.”

“It was good to hear the person responsible for Highways accept that the deterioration of some of our estate roads had gone too far and to hear him voice concern that these roads were dangerous for cyclists. And it’s great to know that repairs are now being prioritized.”

“Even though the repairs will be a quick fix at first, and it’s only to three of the many estates in urgent need, I hope that the insight I gave Councillor Bentley will encourage him to extend the emergency repairs to the rest of Harlow and that once the safety issue is addressed, proper long-term re-surfacing can commence.”

“It was however very disappointing to hear that repairs to Southern Way have now been delayed because the road was in a worse condition than first thought. It is becoming clear that for years now, Essex County Council has not budgeted enough to maintain Harlow’s road infrastructure and that the backlog of works is huge.”

“Residents can rest assured we will maintain pressure on Cllr Bentley and others in the Highways team at the County Council.”