National Pothole Day: Harlow Labour slam Tories over state of potholes in town
News / Sun 15th Jan 2023 at 11:17am
THE Harlow Labour Group has taken National Pothole Day to slam the Tories over the state of our roads.
In a joint statement from the group, they have stated the following:
“Today is National Pothole Day. No, it’s not April Fools Day, that really is a thing!
Harlow has much to proud of but it’s world beating collection of potholes is unlikely to be a source of jubilant celebration today, least of all amongst Conservative Councillors.
To a visitor it might appear there is an epidemic of drunken driving in Harlow but locals know only too well the constant swerving of fellow road users is simply the best way to navigate the lunar surface that now passes for roads and cycle paths in our town.
Over a decade of neglect by Conservative run Essex County Council has resulted in a litany of daily reports of damage caused cars, vans, lorries, buses and bikes.
When Harlow Council Leader, Russell Perrin, announced that Cllr Steve LeMay would have ‘special responsibility for roads’ it was a genuinely astonishing move. Why would anyone accept that poisoned chalice?
But Cllr LeMay took the task with relish and has boasted of repairs already undertaken and that we would see a huge programme of action ‘soon’. Does any Harlow road user recognise an improvement?
Cllr LeMay and his leader Cllr Perrin have failed to deliver on an epic scale.
Our severely neglected roads are now in an even more perilous condition following additional damage inflicted by the snow and ice.
And what of our four Conservative County Councillors? Has anyone heard anything on the issue from Cllrs Mike Garnett, Clive Souter, Michael Hardware or County Council Chair Eddie Johnson? They have to accept their share of the failure too.
All four have a double responsibility, they also sit as members of Harlow Council.
Just what are they doing to demand action the dire state of our roads?
Essex Conservatives are now saying potholes are not a priority and blaming the cost of living crisis for their inaction.
This is utterly ridiculous, the roads have been neglected for over a decade easily pre-dating the cost of living crisis.
They talk of ‘managed decline’ of the roads implying that the potholes are there by design!
Cllr Perrin is clearly presiding over a Council in chaos, leading a team of councillors incapable of delivering on their promises to Harlow residents.
Harlow deserves better.
Signed
Harlow Labour Group of Councillors
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-15 11:39:56
Drove back from Chelmsford via Hatfield Heath on Friday evening, many areas have recently been resurfaced, cats eyes and white lines replaced, not a pot hole in sight. You then get into Harlow and the road in front of Burnt Mill School is full of holes as is the road adjacent to the Harvey Centre. It is quite clear that despite the pledges made by the Tories the number of new potholes in a our towns roads is greater than the number being filled in, hence a steady decline in the overall condition. Harlow is being treated as a back water by ECC, our four County Councillors have little if any influence in getting work done, Cllr LeMay has absolutely none. Indeed when did you last see any of them in your Ward, probably just before election time trying to tout for votes.
Mike
2023-01-15 11:54:40
Once again the roads in Harlow are in a shocking state. Although ECC won't admit it, Government cuts to Local Government funding are clearly having an affect. According to a BBC report "In Essex, teams are only getting to 27% of potholes and a council report suggested last autumn that a shortage of funds had left road maintenance in a state of 'managed decline'." Harlow is so bad at the moment, I understand that they are considering changing the "Welcome to Harlow..." signs to read "Welcome to Harlow. Home of the Pothole."
Joan Cook
2023-01-15 14:13:53
I think welcome to ‘Welcome to Crater Town’ drive or cycle at your own risk!
Richard Adams
2023-01-15 14:38:44
Are we not just throwing good money after bad here? Roads like Momples Road and Minchen Road were comprehensively repaired just a year ago but they are now in a disgusting condition. The method of applying a thin veneer of tarmac over the original concrete road needs to be questioned. Would we not be better by just stripping of the tarmac and running on the original concrete? It could hardly be worse. If you look at the concrete roads in the Hides which have never been surfaced, they are still in good condition after 70 years use. Surely there must be some sort of modern epoxy concrete skim material that could be tried. Anything would be better than what we are doing now.
Kim Oconnor
2023-01-15 15:39:45
Tarmacing has been proven over years, it doesn't last. I agree with Richard, may be go back to concrete roads, this patching up, clearly doesn't work. But hurry up coz I want to get back out on me bike 😂 Harlow roads are an awful risk to theses who ride a bike. But all so for car users , the damage its doing to cars.
Matt
2023-01-15 17:54:17
I'm not aware of Momples Road being repaired a year ago. I drive up it most Sundays, and have done so since 2018, and I don't recall any big repairs a year ago. Recently a sign appeared on Momples Road to say it would be repaired. But now the sign has disappeared and no work has been done. I don't understand why there are so many potholes in Harlow these days. It started before the cost of living crisis, so that's no excuse.
trayces road
2023-01-15 18:48:32
love pot holes its the only thing thats slow down traffic
Tony Edwards
2023-01-15 23:01:38
Minchen Road was repaired and properly re-surfaced. Momples Road wasn’t touched. It has been in an appalling state for a number of years, with our County Councillors attempting to defend the indefensible by saying the problem was not pot holes but rather delamination . Eventually it was conceded that something would be done and machine patching is now scheduled for February. There remains however considerable scepticism as to whether this will be effective. The other problem with Momples Road is the arguably unsafe junction with First Avenue.
Panny
2023-01-15 23:15:21
We can't fill a pothole,can't repair cycle tracks, can't repair pavements. Can't afford school books,can't afford to be ill on the NHS.Cant catch enough criminals.Cant see a Doctor.Cant stop the Town deteriorating...that's just for starters...... We have some fantastic news.We can afford to have yet another Bus Station for only £27million That has got priorities sorted then. Just as well there is a Government fund available.......... Come on you people run me down with your comments just like the Town is......After all social media brings the best out of people
Theman
2023-01-16 09:32:02
I bet if you looked at the data you would find more money is spent deciding whether to fix a pothole than the actual core cost of filling in the pothole. This would explain why we pay more and more taxes and getting lower levels of service ( currently 48% of gdp against a historical average of approx 33%). In fact I suspect it would be cheaper to just have dedicated repair crews attending all potholes to repair them. You do not need a management for this, just an App to report potholes, and a repair crews with a tablet in the vans? This will never happen of course as the management and administration will never vote to reduce their numbers.
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-16 11:29:40
Readers may remember early last year I pointed out that the the path along both sides of Kingsmoor Road were resurfaced by a team of men, the whole task took many weeks. The same work was carried out some time earlier along Paringdon Road again taking weeks. Whist these paths were in an ideal world in need of repair, one has to ask why this type of work is given greater priority than fixing potholes in the road? I suspect that literally hundreds of pot holes could have been dealt with instead of the paths I have mentioned. The real issues as far as I can see are the matter of priorities, the standard of work carried out and the fair allocation of money across the County, based on the need, to keep at least the main routes, including bus routes around the town free from potholes.
Anthony
2023-01-16 19:07:17
The silent response from the four Harlow Conservative County Councillors Eddie Johnson, Michael Garnett, Clive Souter, Michael Hardware and the Harlow Conservative District Councillor with Special responsibility for roads Cllr Stephen Le May is deafening. Have they nothing to say?
Panny
2023-01-16 20:07:07
Correction Yet another new Bus Station only £15 million not £27million, apologies
Luke Burton
2023-01-17 01:09:52
Anthony - those Councillors like many others are too busy fiddling with the dressing up box finding their ceremonial gold chains to get ready for their council taxpayer funded free meals. They don't care and it is just a stepping stone for Westminster either as selection to run for the Commons or a seat in the Lords.
hill
2023-01-17 08:59:18
Awful roads in the town, literally every road has some sort of pothole or uneven surface, its just not on! What on earth do people pay council tax for??? But yeah agree with the comments, what is actually wrong with the current bus station?? These councillors need to take a long, more realistic look at where money goes - & they bang on trying to get you to vote for them.....christ, if they ACTUALLY done what they said they were going to do it maybe a different story! I dont vote for that very reason! they dont listen so whats the point!!
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-17 22:27:02
hill, the point is, The Harlow Allaince Party have fielded candidates in four Wards across the town since 2018 and more recently Green Party candidates have come forward in 11 Wards. I am afraid that until such time as the 60% to 70% of the electorate that do not take the trouble to vote do come out and vote nothing will change. Nicholas Taylor, Leader of the Harlow Alliance Party.
Danny Long
2023-01-18 17:19:47
I agree, the potholes here in Harlow do need sorting out A,S,A,P but as i was always by told by the,then Labour administration party,when I was a UKIP councillor between, 2014 and 2018 and always reporting potholes. This is a county council matter not a Harlow district council matter. Talk about two faced and hypothetical, credit snatches.
TJ
2023-01-22 11:54:28
To reiterate – Harlow Council – Labour or Tory is NOT responsible for he state of our roads. All the council can do is lobby Tory controlled Essex County Council to pull their finger out. All local authorities responsible for roads can apply to the Department of Transport for extra funding to repair potholes. But they have to compete for that money and there’s lots of competition – every local authority has the same problem. To get the money a local authority needs to clearly show they meet and comply with set standards. These include joining up with other local authorities, pooling their road maintenance spending to get more bang for their bucks. They must be seen to negotiate with rip off contractors to get better more cost effective deals. And they must move away from doing cheap repairs that won’t last 12 months. If they fail on any of these tests and other aspects, they won’t get as much money as another part of the country that does. Less money equals less road repairs or shoddy repairs. Obviously, Essex County Council isn’t putting in credible bids or if it is so incompetent in its planning and administration, the money isn’t reaching our roads. Or, as the money isn’t ring fenced it arrives and then gets spent on something else.
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