Concerns raised with Hertfordshire County Council's pothole repair process
The condition of the county’s roads may be a hot topic of conversation with motorists, but Conservative county councillors are concerned that they may not have been discussed enough in the council chamber.
That is because in the past 12 months there have been just four meetings of the county council’s highways cabinet panel. And there’s just one more scheduled before the end of July.
By comparison, other cabinet panels have already held either six or seven meetings – and are scheduled to have had eight by the end of July.
Cllr Matt Cowley (Conservative, Harpenden South West), the Conservative group spokesperson for highways, says three meetings of the cabinet panel have been cancelled in less than a year.
And he says the Conservatives are now asking the council’s overview and scrutiny committee to look at the council’s performance in fixing the roads.
But in response, executive member for highways Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst says that while there may have been fewer formal meetings, he has shared regular updates on works, including pothole trials, the winter service and street lighting.
And as well as providing written summaries to each meeting of the full council, he says any cancelled cabinet panel meeting is agreed with the Opposition leads.
Pointing to the council’s highways performance, Cllr Giles Medhurst (Liberal Democrat, Abbots Langley) said: “Fixing our roads is one of our top priorities, and we know it’s something that really matters to our residents.
“In the first four months of this year, we repaired 15,102 potholes, compared to 13,409 over the same period last year, an increase of 12.6%.
“This financial year we’re investing £107million in our roads, continuing to tackle potholes, using new technology to fix more in a single visit and to detect defects early before they become more problematic.
“We’re focusing on getting the basics right for residents, working hard to make roads safe, resurfacing our roads and pavements and helping to ensure more reliable journeys.”
According to the county council, over the next year, more than 1,000 schemes – including resurfacing, bridge refurbishment, upgrading of traffic signals and road safety improvements – will be delivered.