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Post by johnc on Jan 4, 2024 10:19:54 GMT
We have a local Facebook Group where there is a constant babble of lost dogs, poor parking, bin collection complaints etc etc. However sometimes there is a thread worth following. Four people have now complained about a huge pothole which has broken wheels and suspension. One person has tried to claim from the Council and was told they had no knowledge of the pothole so hard luck. Thankfully someone who lives in a house beside the pothole commented that they had reported the hole about a week before this lady drove in to it on a wet day when it just looked like a big puddle and destroyed her wheel, tyre and suspension. The person that reported it also has the email receipt of the report and is going to send it to the victim of the Council's inaction to pass to her Solicitor. I hope the Council get their ar*e felt over this, even though it will come out of my Council Tax.
Do Councils always hide behind the excuse of "No-one told us" regardless of what the facts are.
I make a point of reporting any pothole or poor road surface as soon as I see it because I might just forget on a dark wet night.
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Post by chipbutty on Jan 4, 2024 10:46:35 GMT
Local councils appear to be routinely useless and slopey shouldered, refusing to take responsibility for the things they are paid to take responsibility for.
I think my local council have a chip butty shaped voodoo doll because I’ve gone full Victor Meldrew over the last 12 months and I’ve complained about everything that is shit:
• Public bins not being emptied
• Fly tipping not being dealt with
• Grass not being cut, or having been cut by a petulant teenager who got bored halfway through.
• Stupid road work approvals (the latest one being lane closures on a busy road over Christmas just so National grid can dig a big hole and then fuck off for two weeks).
• Temporary road signs left post road works
• Road damage not being repaired or being repaired to a standard that says “ fuck you tax paying scum “ better than any poster could.
• Grass verges being destroyed by utility companies and not being put back to how they found them.
It’s pointless really because they just lie when they respond:
• Bins will be emptied on xx date
• We have weekly litter patrols (must be fucking blind then)
• Road repairs are in our schedule and all of our work is to the highest standard.
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Post by Tim on Jan 4, 2024 12:23:22 GMT
I tried claiming for damage years ago and was told that once they've marked the hole they have 7 days to fix it before any claim will be recognised.
So in John's neighbour's case that could be 7 days after some roads dept wallah went out with his spray paint, NOT 7 days from the resident's report.
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Post by johnc on Jan 4, 2024 12:41:35 GMT
I tried claiming for damage years ago and was told that once they've marked the hole they have 7 days to fix it before any claim will be recognised. So in John's neighbour's case that could be 7 days after some roads dept wallah went out with his spray paint, NOT 7 days from the resident's report. Is it one rule for them and one rule for us? Do we get 7 days to move our car after the Council paid traffic warden turns up to tell us off. What a cop out! I hope someone is wealthy enough to take the Council to court to challenge such a one sided excuse for incompetence and laziness. |
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Post by Blarno on Jan 4, 2024 13:01:34 GMT
I hit a pothole near my house at the end of October whist pulling out of a junction. Put a 5p sized hole in the sidewall of one of my rear tyres on the 330. I went past the following day in the van, stopped and sprayed a big fuck-off blue ring around it with my marking paint. A few days later it was filled in. As of then, if I see a pothole and it's safe to stop, I stop and paint around it. I'm even thinking about carrying a few rogue cones in the van to pop on top of the smaller ones.
Edited to add:
My youngest asked me if I was breaking the law doing it. I said I don't care, nobody will report a signwritten Highway Maintenance van with a hi-viz clad berk spraying holes in the road. As long as I refrain from painting massive cock and balls over them.
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Post by alf on Jan 5, 2024 13:20:54 GMT
I recently saw an article saying a few £million was being spent on compensation for this, but around the same time another saying a few £billion were needed to sort out the root cause. It won't be sorted any time soon, a PITA for most of us but some road users, especially on 2 wheels, will die because of that money saving.
I'm highly irked that I have heard some councils make this so difficult to claim now, they are putting people off bothering. Its not conning the system - its the system failing the taxpayer. If the council is saying they don't know of a pothole that was indeed reported, like in the original post, action should be taken against them!
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Post by chipbutty on Jan 5, 2024 15:45:34 GMT
www.writetothem.com/I used this to get some engagement on resolving the third world surface on a major roundabout near me. Got a nice note back from the relevant councillor who kept me up to date with how he was progressing with chasing for resurfacing. Not sure if it helped or not.... However - the wider point is that the damage was exacerbated by all of the house building and associated massive trucks. I don't understand why the council don't make it a conditional part of major planning approvals that the successful contractors have to keep the surrounding roads in tip top condition (and chuck in a few local freebies).
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