Pledge to fix problem potholes

Perth and Kinross Council has pledged to repair potholes on the region’s roads.

But the local authority has asked residents to only report locations where people feel there is a risk of “a serious accident” occurring and has admitted it is “overwhelmed” by the number of reports it is receiving in relation to the issue.

PKC has said 1696 potholes have been identified since January 1 this year and 329 have been repaired so far.

However, staff still have 2500 kilometres of road to check and the council has said more people will be brought in to undertake the task over the next few months.

A PKC spokesperson said: “There are two ways of fixing potholes – the first is to make them safe and the second is to permanently fix them.

“Unfortunately, our weather over the past few weeks will mean that more potholes have appeared and fixes tend to be temporary, before even more potholes arrive.

“During the past few months, all of our pothole repairers have been driving gritters and keeping main roads clear of snow and ice.

“This means we now have a backlog on repairs.

“Please help us by only reporting potholes that are likely to cause a serious accident.

“We do have a record of most potholes and are out inspecting roads all the time to ensure we are picking these up.

“If you do report a pothole, we ask for your patience in terms of the repair process which can take up to 30 days.

“We are also sorry that we cannot give you an individual response to every report.

“We are overwhelmed with reports and can often spend time processing these rather than fixing the potholes themselves.

“We would like to thank you for your understanding and patience as we get the necessary repair work under way following the snow and ice of the last few weeks.”