Pothole patching ‘will last 10 minutes’
TEMPORARY repairs to potholes on North Berwick High Street “will last about 10 minutes”, the chair of the town’s community council has said.
East Lothian Council contractors carried out pothole patching on the carriageway last week.
The repairs, said the local authority, were completed following “communication from North Berwick Community Council indicating it was supportive of the works being undertaken at the earliest possibility”.
However, Kathryn Smith, secretary of the community council, said that the repairs, which saw the holes patched, were not adequate and would only provide a short-term fix.
She said: “On Thursday, a squad of workmen appeared and proceeded to patch the potholes – despite me having said in my initial correspondence that patching does not last long before breaking up.
“The result is an absolute mess: disgraceful workmanship, appalling oversight and a waste of money. It will be interesting to see how long the patching lasts.
“Given that it has been voted the best place to live in the UK, surely North Berwick deserves better from East Lothian Council.”
Kenny Miller, community council chair, shared his colleague’s concerns.
He said: “I fully agree with everything Kathryn said.
“The patchwork will last about 10 minutes.
“This has been an ongoing issue for a long time and people are concerned. We want to see proper repairs done to the road to make it safer to drive on.
“These works are not going to help.”
An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Finding a suitable time, to minimise disruption, had been difficult.
“But after talks with North Berwick Community Council, it was agreed that work would be undertaken at the earliest possibility. These temporary repairs on High Street were carried out last week.
“The council is planning to undertake wider carriageway resurfacing work along High Street in the next financial year. This will require further planning and co-ordination with a focus on minimising disruption as far as possible.
“We look forward to progressing this in due course.”
Ms Smith told the Courier she was “surprised to learn” that there were “plans to resurface the footway and road between the Glen Golf Club and the sewage works”, saying this was “hardly a priority given the state of main roads in the town”.
But a spokesperson for the council said no such works were to take place.