Express & Star

'A disgrace' - State of Cannock Chase roads blasted by councillor

The roads in Cannock Chase were today branded a 'disgrace' by a leading councillor who says nothing has changed after raising the issue of potholes several months ago.

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Deputy leader Gordon Alcott, who previously claimed 'there must be a pothole on every road in Cannock Chase', has hit out again after he says there has been no improvement.

Speaking to the Express & Star, Councillor Alcott said: "Most of the potholes are in as bad a condition as they were some months ago. The county council say they are filling them in but I can't see the evidence. A solution would be to fill the potholes in correctly rather than temporarily. At the moment they fill them in temporarily, a HGV drives over them, and they open up and need repairing again.

"It is just a waste of time and this would stop them having to keep coming back.

"Someone told me this the other day and I think he was spot on, you could start in Hednesford with a lorry of coal, drive to Cannock and you would have a lorry full of slag – that's how bad our roads are. He is quite correct."

Asked about the possibility of devolving road repairs to the district council, Mr Alcott said the move would not be 'wise at the moment'. He added: "To do our roads with the condition they have been left in, they would have to spend millions and millions of pounds on them."

Mark Deaville, cabinet member for Highways and Transport at Staffordshire County Council said: "We know that potholes are a concern to people and our highways crews make every effort to fix them as soon as possible. We do have a huge road network here in Staffordshire, with around 6,000km of roads and our crews fix around 20,000 potholes every year."

People can report highways issues at www.staffordshire.gov.uk or by calling 0300 1118000.

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