Roads are ‘dreadful’ in borough, say readers
MOTORISTS have blasted the “appalling” and “dreadful” state of roads in Hinckley and Bosworth.
Scores of people took to The Hinckley Times’ Facebook page recently to vent their frustration over the quality of roads in the borough.
Residents complained about “stupid speed bumps”, pot holes, road chippings and overgrown verges.
The withering comments followed the launch of a public consultation by Leicestershire County Council asking motorists for their views on how roads, pavements and verges should be looked after in the future.
The highways authority are looking to find ways of slashing £10 million from its road maintenance budget by 2020 - and it hopes the public can offer some cost-saving ideas.
However many people took the opportunity to express their anger instead.
Ashley Little wrote: “The roads are dreadful. Even when they’ve been repaired they’re shocking. For months the perimeter road was dug up and new pipes put down causing chaos, only for the road to be topped off with the all new lumpy tarmac.”
Paul Chalmers added: “The paths are in a state and have been for years. I reported potholes on Palmer Road months ago and nothing has been done.”
Michael Saunders said: “Stop putting in stupid speed bumps and other unnecessary street furniture and the savings will easily come.”
Sarah Edwards said: “Perhaps if the council started looking after our roads, repair potholes and cut grass verges so people could see around a roundabout, people would not have cause to moan. It seems only fair when we pay our road tax and council tax.”
Lawrence Bennett wrote: “Well the council has enough money to put all the speed humps around Hinckley but not enough to repair the roads. Then they use road chippings for cheap road surfacing. But it’s still ok for them to charge emptying the garden waste. Where is the sense in that?”
A Leicestershire County Council spokeswoman said the condition of the roads has improved since 2009/10, despite spending £6 million fewer.
She added: “We welcome all comments and feedback on the condition of our roads, pavements and verges as they help us to target our spending and time.
“The funding for certain improvements seen in Hinckley, such as traffic calming, has come from government grant funding that cannot be spent on maintenance.
“We would like to thank everyone who has already had their say, and encourage those who haven’t to take part in on our highways maintenance consultation.
“All feedback will be used to help us shape our future approach to looking after the network.”
The three-month consultation runs until September 25. Visit www. l ei c est er s hi re. gov. uk/ highwaysconsultation