Gone to pot: Complaints about crumbling roads flood in to Stoke-on-Trent City Council
ANGRY motorists are bombarding the city council with complaints about potholes on Stoke-on-Trent's roads every 30 minutes.
Latest figures show Stoke-on-Trent City Council repaired 6,859 potholes in 2012 after receiving 8,735 complaints.
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Potholes in Bath Street, Stoke, and Thornley Road, Burslem.
That means an average of 27 complaints are made to council call centre staff Monday to Saturday – the equivalent to at least one every half-an-hour.
The council spent £454,694 repairing potholes last year – with the average crater costing £66 to fix.
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But drivers have been contacting The Sentinel with photographs of the region's crumbling roads.
One motorist is putting in a claim after hitting a pothole in Hartshill Road, Stoke, on Saturday and having to fork out £62 for a new tyre.
Problem areas include Thornley Road, in Burslem, Smithpool Road, in Fenton, and Ronald Street, Longton.
Mechanic Stephen Withington, aged 48, of Newcastle, who jointly owns Castletown Garage, in Liverpool Road, Newcastle, said: "The damage caused by potholes is getting worse and it is costing motorists because an average tyre will set them back £45. The number of potholes around Stoke-on-Trent is just getting silly."
Normacot taxi driver Mohammed Amin, aged 44, who works for Ace Private Hire, said: "The roads are terrible. We have driven in other areas where this is not a problem."
The most complaints about Stoke-on-Trent's potholes were lodged in May when 658 drivers complained, followed by 647 in December. Council staff repaired 1,901 potholes in January, 2012.
Elsewhere, Staffordshire County Council repaired 17,881 potholes in 2012 following 6,470 complaints.
Cheshire East Council received 2,000 pothole complaints in the first three weeks of this year.
Cheshire East Councillor David Topping said: "We are prioritising repairs during the remaining winter months."
Delivery driver Andrew Lloyd, of Festival Heights, has lodged a claim against the council after his Ford Focus was damaged.
The 30-year-old said: "There are potholes all over the place."
The city council declined to comment.
28 Comments
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by stevenweiss
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 9:36PM
“'bout time stoke council started issuing credits for drivers using their roads, to help pay for the steering alignment and shock absorbers soon required. I suggest machines mounted under the 'welcome to stoke on trent' signs that print out vouchers that can be redeemed at any branch of Halfords or Kwik Fit.”
by Exserviceman
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 7:02AM
“Perhaps the fact that the method they use costs £66 per pothole may be part of the problem , surely a team of men with all the equipment necessary on their truck should be able to do them for a lot less than that and even a private contractor could offer a much cheaper service without sacrificing quality. Or does the £66 include the team of senior managers on inflated salaries who are too bust attending meetings to actually manage anything..”
by valeforever
Monday, February 04 2013, 7:47PM
“I have reported potholes on our street via Fix my Street, So watch this space and we will see how long it takes to get them filled.”
by Holeinhole
Monday, February 04 2013, 4:09PM
“Any one that heads in to north Wales will note one thing the lack of potholes very unlike Staffordshire and Cheshire”
by sweatysock
Monday, February 04 2013, 3:03PM
“cameron & his clowns don't spend anymore the '''pot'' is empty for essential services now,, p-s chris huhne pleaded GUILTY to perverting the course of justice...WOW A CORRUPT LYING POLITICIAN SHOCKING!!!!! (sarcasm) broken society...broken britain...community service is looming ..”
by STHolder
Monday, February 04 2013, 3:02PM
“Potter46 - exactly. The amount of tax paid every year from motorists in both road tax and fuel is obscene. There are no excuses for the state of British roads. Soon we'll have Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boardman doing an extreme motorcyle expedition along the length of Caverswall Rd in Blythe Bridge. A lot more rugged that the Trans-Siberian.”
by miss_d_fyed85
Monday, February 04 2013, 3:01PM
“I reported a home once for nurses walking round in nappies.pothead i think.”
by Charlieanne
Monday, February 04 2013, 2:51PM
“The council don't listen. Found the best thing to do is put in an "Official complaint" with the council. They then have so many days to respond to the complaint then you can take it further if no satisfactory result. Does not work all the time but if it official then it's official. Get my drift. Then again just bombard them with complaints they may need extra staff less unemployment. Solution.”
by stokeandvale
Monday, February 04 2013, 2:36PM
“And the PAVEMENTS!”
by PMilton
Monday, February 04 2013, 2:24PM
“But by my last comment, I don't mean that the council are off the hook! We should report them to speed them up! Come on S-o-T Council you know it makes economic common sense and if you care anything about people getting injured on bikes then you'll get to work sharpish!!!”