Street’s issue with potholes is no more
RESIDENTS PLEASED WITH IMPROVEMENTS
IT was the pothole capital of North Tyneside.
Now, the council claims Churchill Street’s pothole problem has all but vanished.
Over 20 claims a year were lodged with North Tyneside Council by miffed drivers, blaming holes on the long Wallsend road for damage to their vehicles. But since a £3m area-wide road improvement scheme, those claims have dried up.
And now locals are happy with the council – well, most of them.
“It desperately needed doing and fair play to the council, they did it,” said Gary Fletcher.
A resident for seven years, he said councillors knocked on his door and – after venting his anger – action was taken.
“For once, they came and listened,” said the 53-year-old.
“We still have problems, especially the boy racers flying down on a Friday night, but the road itself is brilliant now.”
Biker Stu Macfarland had nightmares thinking about driving the 900-metrelong road, claiming the holes would wreck his tyres.
Now he admits: “It is great – the council has done a good job.”
But a Freedom of Information Request has revealed North Tyneside’s pothole problem is far from fixed.
Exclusive figures show, last year, there were over 1,400 council compensation claims from drivers – almost double the 2017 figure.
The cracked roads have cost taxpayers at least £17,798 so far in payouts. And between 2017 and 2018, 42 claims were lodged due to the state of Churchill Street alone.
Last year the road was one of 70 streets green-lit for what councillor Carl Johnson, cabinet member for environment and transport at North Tyneside Council, admitted was “much-needed” work.
And the council says since the old surface started to be removed last summer, Churchill Street’s problem has disapeared. Phil Scott, the council’s head of environment, housing and leisure, said: “Since 1 January 2018 we have received 11 pothole claims for Churchill Street – all were dated between January and April 2018, which was before the road was resurfaced.
“The condition of roads and pavements is important to residents and is a key priority for the mayor and cabinet.
“That is why Churchill Street was among 70 streets to benefit from a £3m investment in the borough’s highways network in August 2018, at 900 metres long it was the largest area to feature.”
The remaining section of Churchill Street, between number 242 and the Willington interchange at the northern end, is scheduled to be resurfaced from April 2019. But for some people, that stretch – at the end closer to the Coast Road – can’t come quick enough.
“The worst bit at the moment is still the top bit,” admitted Stu.
“Every time you have a cold snap, you have to dodge the potholes when you come over the roundabout.”
And fellow Wallsend resident Claire Kelly said: “They need to sort that part out urgently.”
The Freedom of Information request revealed the council is still spending way more fixing potholes than paying drivers after they’d hit them.
Last year, over £123,000 was spent filling them in. Despite that, Janet Coulson, a Churchill Street resident for 30 years, said while the council had done a “good job” in relaying the road, she claimed: “They could spend the money on better things.”