Council tells 101-year-old to fix ‘awful’ potholes herself
A 101-YEAR-OLD woman was told by her council that the potholes on her road were her problem to fix.
Locals in Watchet, Somerset, claim they live on “the most potholed road in England” and accused their local authority of refusing to repair it.
Residents in the seaside town say they are unable to safely use the lane, which has a total of 21 potholes.
“They said we could do the work ourselves and fix them – absurd,” said Brian Pankhurst, 79. “We are all elderly residents and don’t have that kind of money.” The residents include Sheila Nicholls, who at 101 is one of Somerset’s oldest people. She said it was “awful” and “very unsafe”, with six people having fallen over on the road surface and two of those ending up in hospital.
“How can you tell a 101-year-old to fill their own potholes,” Mr Pankhurst said.
Their road leads on to the former West Somerset Mineral Line, which is an 11-mile long route of a Victorian-era railway.
Somerset council admitted “there are some potholes” but insisted that the lane was “still accessible for walkers” and that it is not solely responsible for the lane’s upkeep because it is a public right of way. Local authorities are required to maintain all public roads, whereas a public right of way is a pri- vately owned road which the public are entitled to use but the local authority is not necessarily required to maintain.
“This lane is a public right of way, not a public road, which is used by residents to access their properties,” a spokesman said.
“Therefore, the responsibility for the upkeep of this lane is complex and there will need to be a shared approach to maintenance going forward.” But Mr Pankhurst said it was unacceptable that the council had not repaired the lane since locals first alerted it two years ago.
“The council are trying to say it is our responsibility, but if it’s our responsibility why was it tarmacked in the first place? It is public. Why should we be responsible for maintaining it? That is absolutely appalling.”
The spokesman added: “We understand people’s concerns and we [will] work with residents to try to come to a workable solution.”