The councillor who’s so fed up with potholes he fills them in himself!
LIKE most local politicians, Roy Owen is inundated with complaints about potholes.
But unlike most local politicians, he actually does something about them.
Armed with asphalt and a blowtorch, Mr Owen has embarked on a one-man crusade to fill in the potholes himself.
Since September, he has dealt with 93 in his Seiont ward near Caernarfon, north Wales.
And while his hard work has won him plaudits from road users, killjoy civil servants have – perhaps predictably – ordered him to stop for health and safety reasons. But Mr Owen, 60, a former RAF police officer, football scout and highways technician, insisted yesterday: ‘The council don’t like it, but I am going to carry on.’
He admitted that cynics might say he was doing the work to win votes, but said more councillors should follow his lead, rather than sitting in meetings all the time.
‘I get £13,600 (a year) for being a councillor,’ he said. ‘I sold my car and bought a van and use the money I get to buy tools and tarmac.
‘My days of sitting down in meetings are over. Actions speak louder than words. Instead of getting 100 complaints a week now, I get very few. It keeps the residents happy and they are getting value for money.’
Mr Owen sits as an independent member on the Plaid Cymru-led Gwynedd council. A former mayor of Caernarfon, he has represented the Seiont ward, just outside the town, for the past 18 years.
The married great- grandfather added: ‘I stood down from being in committees after becoming fed up with petty politics.
‘I know what I’m doing. My potholes are tidy. I worked for the highways from 1975 to 1993, so I’ve got my cones and high-vis jacket. I’ve got signs warning of “road works ahead” and do all the safety checks beforehand. I don’t just jump out into the traffic.
‘I can also cut the grass, hedges and tree branches. I am not supposed to do it but if I don’t, who else will? If I stop, the complaints will double.
‘I go out at 8 o’clock in the morning until 5pm and I enjoy it. All I want is for people to stop smashing up their cars on these nasty potholes. Our ward is quite tidy now – I’m proud of the work I’ve done.’
Mr Owen added: ‘I don’t blame the council. They have a £19million deficit and don’t have enough money to fill all of the potholes in. They have to wait until they reach about four inches deep before they meet the criteria to be repaired. I’m just trying to keep people happy.’
A council spokesman said pothole repairs should be carried out only by their trained staff.
‘Gwynedd’s highways and municipal staff continuously monitor the 1,790 miles of public highways and undertake safety inspections on a regular basis,’ the spokesman said.
‘Any necessary remedial work is carried out as soon as possible in accordance with national standards. We would urge anyone who has a concern regarding a specific area on the public highway to contact the council.
‘Highways are inherently dangerous areas and subject to stringent repair standards which should be carried out only by the highway authority.’
‘I can also cut the grass and hedges’