Residents call for council to repair 'dangerous' road in Berkhamsted

Residents in Berkhamsted have called on the council to improve the condition of a 'dangerous' road outside their homes.

The group have been complaining to Dacorum Borough Council for a number of weeks and are fed up with no action being taken.

Simon McQueen, of Swing Gate Lane, is one of the residents who has been complaining to the council and Gade Homes - who carried out construction work on new homes on the road earlier this year.

Swing Gate Lane (Upper), is the side road that runs parallel to the main road, and is managed by Dacorum Borough Council.

Since the residents raised the issue with the council, Dacorum Borough Council has now started the tendering process with a view to resurfacing the carriageway.

He claimed: "We, the residents of Swing Gate Lane (Upper) have been undergoing a terrible hardship due to bad condition of the road in particular the lower end of the street where (Upper) Swing Gate lane connects to the main Swing Gate Lane.

"Due to a combination of neglect and construction work (Gade Homes) the condition of the road deteriorated considerably after the new homes were built last year and although have since been completed since February 2020 they have not been left in a condition that can be deemed safe or satisfactory.

"Upon completion of the work the road was temporarily covered with sand, debris and mud. It is like an avalanche of gravel and pot holes now.

"Gade were supposed to clean up the mess after the building work finished, it finished before lockdown, and still no one has been out to sort it. The problem is that Gade only made a small part of the road worse, the whole road needs sorting.

"The condition of this stretch of road is appalling and hazardous. There are potholes that are potentially damaging to vehicles and dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians.

"Any slight rainfall makes the road extremely dangerous for the pedestrians to walk along, especially for small children that use this as an access point to Swing Gate and Thomas Coram Schools, or the elderly who may not be quite as firm footed.

"My own son has slipped and fallen on the poor surface twice. As a cyclist I’m forced to ride against the one way system and exit at Chestnut Drive, the road is simply too dangerous to exit correctly down the hill.

"The council 'elastoplasted' the road back in 2013/14 filling in the major hazards but to be honest this was never enough and a full through job needs to be done to thoroughly resurface the entire road before someone suffers an injury.

"We (the residents) want the council to look into the matter urgently and make sure that the road is restored to its metallic condition as early as possible."

Mr McQueen spoke to the managing director of Gade Homes last week.

He added: "I spoke with the MD of Gade Homes, the development company who built the new houses at the bottom of our stretch of road that worsened the bad state of the road where they'd be accessing their site. He appeared equally as frustrated by the council.

"He has received no response whatsoever. In theory, he could send out a team to begin fixing the lower section and the council could come and shut that work down.

"I suggested that the ideal solution would be for the council to work with Gade, and get them to resurface the entire stretch.

"The residents would be happy, the council would have minimal involvement beyond agreeing and paying the cost and it would be a extra bit of work for the Gade team."

William Dalton, managing director of Gade Homes, said: "I have written to Berkhamsted Town Council and Hertfordshire County Council on two occasions about the state of the road and what we can do to repair it, and I have had no response.

"The road was in a poor state of repair before we started work there, the lorries and work have made it worse, but it was in a bad state before.

"It was a problem that has always existed.

"We are very reasonable and would like to get this sorted for the residents, we want to help sort the road.

"I'm waiting for a response from Berkhamsted Town Council and the County Council, so we can work together and sort this issue for the residents.

"It seems like Dacorum Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council have let this road get into a state of disrepair, neither are taking responsibility for the maintenance of the road.

"I really want to get this sorted for all the residents."

A spokesperson for Dacorum Borough Council said: "We are starting the tendering process with a view to resurfacing the carriageway.

"Unfortunately due to the cost and in order to meet our procurement regulations we will need to procure this work through an open tender.

"At this moment we currently do not have a definitive timeline for when this work is likely to take place, but we are actively working towards a satisfactory resolution."

Tony Noakes, Town Clerk for Berkhamsted Town Council, said: "I can see that this has been an ongoing issue for residents for quite some time.

"We have no control over the resurfacing of the road, the road belongs to Dacorum Borough Council.

"I know that our town councillors have been in communication with Dacorum Borough Council and have helped push for the issue to be resolved.

"I know that there are plans for the road to be resurfaced, which is positive news for the residents."