‘Like driving in the Rocky Mountains’

THE country has been in lockdown for almost a year, and thankfully we are starting to see the green shoots of hope.

This is the time when entrepreneurs might start to look at investment and bring much needed industry to our great city.

But why would any outside employer want to come to Stoke-on-trent if it was dependent on first impressions?

Any potential investor would struggle to even drive around the city. It’s a logistical nightmare, and here are a couple of reasons why.

In January, Councillor Daniel Jellyman bragged that a multi-million pound investment meant the backlog of pothole repairs has been reduced from 2,296 last January to 643.

I’m not sure where they get those figures from, unless I’m really unlucky and the 643 remaining potholes are on my route to work, as I certainly must see them all in that two-mile trip.

On February 17, The Sentinel reported that Stokeon-trent is the worst in the country for getting potholes fixed.

I drive past one deep pothole that has been reported, and is still there after several months.

This hole is approximately 20cm deep, and at least five drivers have claims for damage against the council.

In the end it was members of Unite the Union who took it upon themselves to cone the area off to prevent further damage to property and protect members of the public.

I estimate the damage to vehicles that I know of at more than £2,000.

I have recently paid to have holes repaired, and know the cost of repairing this pothole would have cost no more than £400. I’m not having a personal attack at

Councillor Jellyman, he is just an elected representative and spokesperson for the city council – a city that is gridlocked with roadworks, restricting our ability to get anywhere in good time – and when you do finally get going it’s like driving off-road in the Rocky Mountains.

Most of all, nobody can understand why it wasn’t done last year when there were hardly any vehicles on the road.

Come on Stoke-on-trent City Council, get your act together and get the city moving again.

ROBERT TAYLOR CHAIR, UNITE THE UNION’S NORTH STAFFS AREA ACTIVIST COMMITTEE

A city that is gridlocked with roadworks, restricting our ability to get anywhere in good time, and when you do finally get going it’s like driving off-road in the Rocky Mountains

BUMPY RIDE: Letter writer Robert Taylor says driving along Stoke-on-trent’s pothole-riddled roads is like tackling Colorado’s Rocky Mountains off-road.