The issue of potholes throughout the ABC borough was high on the agenda at Monday’s (January 26) meeting of the local authority, with several councillors going as far as describing it as a “life and death” situation, such is the level of deterioration of some roads.
The lengthy debate on the matter came on the back of a recommendation by Cllr Peter Lavery (Alliance, Lurgan DEA) to write to Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Minister Liz Kimmins to express concerns over the way complaints are handled on the DfI reporting portal.
Ald Paul Berry (Independent, Cusher DEA) felt the concerns he wished to air about potholes could also become part of the letter which will be sent to the minister.
He stated at Monday’s meeting: “As elected representatives, especially over recent days and weeks, we have been getting constant calls from constituents and photographs being sent to us in relation to potholes, in relation to road defects.
“Quite a number of them are [so] dangerous that it is a matter of life or death, because in some cases the potholes that I’ve seen, if a motorbike or a cyclist hit them, they’d be in serious trouble.
“Today already, I’ve had two or three people contact me about roads [where] they’ve wrecked their tyres, even this morning.
“There’s something seriously wrong and I would really love for someone to come in front of me and tell me, when we report these defects, how they are dealt with, because between the [DfI reporting] portal and emails, you think that you’re getting nowhere.
“Are they really being picked up at all? And I would like to hear from the acting divisional manager as to what the process [is] as soon as councillors send these defects through, because the general public in some cases think that we are not reporting them at all when they come to us. It’s time they acted because the roads have never been as bad.”
Cllr Kyle Savage (UUP, Lagan River DEA) commented: “I believe we should get them in the room and look into the whites of their eyes, instead of sending letters.
“The state of the roads is an absolute disgrace and it’s going to cause life and death to somebody at some stage.
“Last night, I had a call from a lady whose daughter had hit a pothole close to my house, an 18-year-old girl and her friend out driving, caught and parked in a dangerous position.
“Now, luckily enough, we were able to get her off the road, but it is going to be a life and death situation here, and somebody needs to take account of this. It has to be [addressed] sooner rather than later.
“Potholes, before Covid, were fixed within 24 hours. Now it’s taking two weeks or more. That is not acceptable.”
Ald Mark Baxter (DUP, Lagan River DEA) said: “I think all of us as elected members, particularly over the last number of days, have fielded that many complaints about potholes.
“Even tonight, where I’m sitting here, I just got a text message to say there’s a large pothole that just opened up on the Dromore Road above Mil Hill [between Lurgan and Dromore], and there’s four cars sitting at the side of the road with hazard lights on, who have all hit it.
“Now, we understand that all the heavy rain and the ground being saturated is making these problems worse, but in 15 years as elected representative I’ve never seen the roads in as bad a state as they are now.
“The potholes over the last number of days, it’s just shocking. And you know what? It’s out of control and it’s going to be very difficult to get it back. The amount of money being claimed, the amount of claim forms that I have sent to people over the last number of days, is shockingly high.
“The defects are not just minor inconveniences, they’re causing vehicle damage. They’re posing real safety risks and placing additional pressure on households that are already struggling with the cost-of-living pressures.
“Hundreds of tyres have to be replaced. They’re having to take alloy wheels to get them welded, to get springs replaced.
“I think this needs to go to the minister. I’m not here to bash the minister, but I certainly think the minister needs to take this in hand, look at our resources and how they’re managed across the Department, because I think it’s going to get to the stage where they’re going to have to get [money] from somewhere else.
“The scale of deterioration can’t be addressed through short-term maintenance. I had a pothole right outside my house that I lobbied and phoned and called about on December 17. It was fixed.
“It’s now opened up again and we’re not even at the end of January. Potholes being fixed temporarily for two weeks isn’t acceptable.
“I have members from the local depot ringing me to say ‘Look, this isn’t really acceptable, but the quarry is closed down for three weeks over Christmas, and we can’t get these fixed properly’. It’s a false economy.
“There’s one particular hole, and I’m going to get parochial. It’s on the Moygannon Road in Donaghcloney, and over the space of the last 12 hours I know seven people that I’ve sent claim forms to for the same hole, and you’re talking claims which are going to be a couple hundred pounds a piece.
“So, £1,400 would have fixed that hole properly [as opposed to] these minor patch jobs.
“Let’s do the thing properly because it’s going to get to the stage where they’re going to get far beyond repair, and we’re not going to be able to repair them without serious investment. The minister is going to have to take it in hand and sort it out.
“I propose tonight to incorporate [my concerns] into the letter that we [are going to] write to the minister [about the DfI reporting portal], and just talk about the sheer state of the roads.
“Let’s get a timescale in place where we’re going to have this problem sorted out. People are asking, what are the council doing about it? All I can do is lobby because I’m getting blamed.
“I can’t even go to the shop now. People are talking about the state of the roads. It’s horrendous. So, I would propose that that letter goes out tomorrow morning at 9am to the minister, and that an urgent response is requested.”
Councillor Lavery, who had first proposed that a letter be sent to the DfI Minister, indicated he was happy to incorporate Ald Baxter’s request as part of the council’s correspondence.
Councillor Keith Ratcliffe (TUV, Cusher DEA) concurred with what had been said, stating: “With me being in rural Cusher, the roads are unbelievably bad. We had a case there recently. Alderman Berry and myself reported it on the Cordraine Road, just in between Laurelvale and Tandragee.
“It was fixed about November/December time, and it’s just completely broken up again. So, it’s in a horrendous state and my fear is fatalities coming forward, especially whenever we get into the better time of year, whenever people are on motorbikes and different things.
“I go as far as to say DfI aren’t fit for purpose. You’re reporting for constituents. They deserve to have these roads fixed. They pay their taxes on their cars and it’s simply not good enough. The general public think it is to do with the council and it isn’t. ”
He added it was time the minister “got this sorted out once and for all”.
