A WOMAN who lives near Crediton says that Devon County Council (DCC) Highways department and Councillors should be held to account for the number of and lack of repair to potholes locally.

Nancy Murgatroyd of Hilltop House, Hollacombe, has responded to an article in the “Courier” on May 16 which explained that DCC will have extra money (£12 million) to spend on drainage and mending potholes.

From the top of Pitt Hill towards Yeoford.
From the top of Pitt Hill towards Yeoford. (Nancy Murgatroyd)

Nancy said: “Should we get excited and assume that things are going to improve?

“We see the pothole trucks coming and going, one hole is filled and the next 10 left then they are off somewhere else. We are told it is all in line with their criteria for depth and width and shape and most holes that we spend our time reporting are rejected. But of course, we all know that our roads are not suffering from neat, sharp edged holes in isolation. 

“Years of neglect has left strings of holes, craters, subsidence, deeply grooved surfaces which, common sense dictates, are dangerous and damaging to vehicles.”

On Pitt Hill between Hollacombe and Crediton.
On Pitt Hill between Hollacombe and Crediton. (Nancy Murgatroyd)

Nancy said she has reported what she describes as “a particularly dangerous stretch of road between Hollacombe Cross and Brandise Cross”. 

According to Highways: “The problem has been identified at the location you provided but does not meet the criteria for a safety problem and no action has been taken.”

Nancy’s response is: “Clearly, in reality, the road is unsafe as are many others, but if Highways are willing to blindly exploit their own criteria to pretend that the unsafe and inconvenient are nothing of the kind, then what difference will it make if they have more money?”

She continued: “I took this information to the last meeting of Crediton Hamlets Parish Council and was saddened to hear how deeply frustrated members were with the situation and how much time they spend trying to get things fixed with little or no success.

“No doubt these feeling are replicated in many other councils across the county.

“Local people are not stupid. We know the current system is not working, that it is inefficient, short-term and poor value for money.

“Apparently the DDC cabinet will soon decide who to contract with for road maintenance going forward. Local people will not be consulted, our elected representatives will not have a say. Having more money to spend is only a virtue if it is spent efficiently. Do we think that is going to happen?”

DCC say: “A highway safety inspection identifies defects that are likely to create a danger or serious inconvenience to highway users or the wider community.”

Nancy continued: “I see no evidence that they are doing that.

“So, should we take a nice public relations exercise at face value or search for ways of holding Highways to account?

“Surely, we need meaningful engagement with local people, proof that the service can be run more sensibly and efficiently, publicly available data defining the problem, the solution the timescales and some realism about what is unsafe and inconvenient to local people.”