Pothole repairs criticised as a ‘waste of money’
Argyll and Bute Council’s leader has claimed the authority is not ‘getting it right first time’ when it comes to pothole repairs – branding short-term repairs ‘a waste of money’.
Kintyre and the Islands Liberal Democrat Councillor Robin Currie made the comments after another councillor raised concerns about similar situations on the Cowal Peninsula.
That was despite a report which claimed that the council had a 100 per cent record in repairing potholes within 36 hours in the last three months of 2021.
Cowal Liberal Democrat councillor Alan Reid queried the quality of repairs which were carried out after concerns were expressed by constituents.
The discussion took place at a virtual meeting of the council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Thursday March 3.
Councillor Reid said: ‘That [the reported 100 per cent record] is very good, but I want to ask about follow-up inspections.
‘At the last meeting of Colintraive and Glendaruel Community Council, they told me that potholes had been filled in, but in practically no time at all, the tar came out and the potholes were not sealed properly.
‘It is something that has been raised time and time again over my five years with the council.
‘What quality control do we have in place here, and do we record the success rate of pothole packing?
‘And what are we going to do to improve the success rate?'
Jim Smith, the council’s head of amenity services, replied: ‘We aim to do it right first time for repairs, but the first priority is ensuring that the route is fit for purpose, so we have to do emergency repairs from time to time.
‘In winter, when everything is wet and you have sub-zero temperatures, there are challenges in carrying out repairs. It is also recommended that you don’t lay anything when the temperature is less than five degrees.
‘If you have cold conditions, it may be that sometimes you have to do emergency repairs. We also use a range of materials and will use materials which will do a quick job and make things safe but are not a permanent fix.
‘We will look into the issue around Colintraive – there will be some repairs lasting only a short period, but most are done on a ‘right first time’ basis.’
Councillor Currie then said: ‘I certainly agree with Councillor Reid. I had a chat with Jim and Kirsty [Flanagan, executive director] just the other day, and I am going to be blunt – I don’t think we are getting it right first time.
‘I can give an example more or less outside my house. It has been repaired four times in the last year and a half, and that is not an isolated example.
‘To me, it is happening all the time, and that is a complete waste of money.
‘We should be getting it right first time and this needs to be looked at.’