Suffolk residents near Bury St Edmunds speak of roads ‘littered with dangerous potholes’ and call for a review by Suffolk County Council

The state of the roads has promoted calls for an ‘urgent’ and transparent review of the highways and infrastructure maintenance system across Suffolk.

Adrian Graves, of Great Barton, near Bury St Edmunds, came to the aid of a traveller whose car was written off due to potholes in his village on Good Friday.

But – his village aside – West Suffolk was ‘littered with dangerous potholes and damaged vehicles,’ he said.

Mr Graves, who ran his own consulting practice for more than 40 years that specialised in areas including transport and infrastructure, is urging Suffolk County Council (SCC) to commission a proper audit of how it procures, manages and delivers its highways and infrastructure maintenance.

A spokesperson for SCC, which runs Suffolk Highways, said since the beginning of the year, more than 6,000 potholes had been repaired, which is over 1,000 more than the same period last year, and they were working hard to reduce the number of potholes and other defects across Suffolk as quickly as they can.

They have increased their number of pothole repair teams and, in an aim to deliver more repairs, they are adapting their methods in certain locations to repair defects quicker, whilst maintaining quality, the spokesperson added.

Vehicle recovery firm DJ Recovery, based near Stonham Aspal, but covering East Anglia, spoke of the roads ‘getting worse’, saying you could see this even if you weren’t in the recovery trade.

Their drivers described the state of the roads as ‘shocking’, estimating they deal with at least one recovery a day due to potholes and three to four a day in terms of roadside assistance caused by the defects.

Mr Graves said: “There is obviously a fundamental problem with the way highways issues are reported and then actioned, so I am calling for Suffolk County Council to commission an urgent, and transparent, audit of the whole highways and infrastructure maintenance system across the county.”

He added: “When is Suffolk County Council going to get a grip of their highways people and hold them to account? Or do was have to wait for a KSI (killed and seriously injured incident)?”

Mr Graves said SCC needed to look at the management of the intervention criteria – which covers the size and location of the defect – mentioning the issue of one pothole in a road being fixed while others are left.

When asked about the current state of the roads, former Great Barton Parish councillor Philip Reeve said ‘can it get any worse?’ and added: “I think in terms of the severity of the holes I think it’s definitely the worst period I have seen.”

He said local authorities talked about sustainability and getting on your bike, scooter or something more energy efficient than a car, but you ‘take your life in your hands’ with potholes near the verge.

“You could get thrown in the opposing traffic lane and be a statistic,” he added. “Some people will say we have had a harsh winter, but I don’t think it’s as harsh as we’ve had previously.

“It’s the brinkmanship people in Suffolk Highways are willing to run, and it’s people’s safety.”

Mr Reeve – who also says there needs to be a review by SCC - said there needed to be diligent evaluation of how they respond to reports of potholes, adding: “It’s about how they complete that loop.”

He also said the scope of works – the area in an agreement where the work to be performed is described - between Suffolk Highways and outgoing contractor Kier seemed to be ‘questionable’, but he hoped the situation would improve when new contractor Milestone starts this October.

Mr Graves also welcomed Milestone coming on board, after Kier had the contract for Suffolk highways services for 10 years.

He said it was an opportunity for investment, such as the technology to carry out the pothole repairs.

A SCC spokesperson said they were working with Milestone on mobilising the new contract and were looking at operational efficiencies, innovation and best approach when it comes to defect repairs to ensure the very best services for Suffolk’s residents in future.

The spokesperson said: “Our highways teams are out daily undertaking safety inspections to identify road defects that require repairing. With almost 4,200 miles of road in Suffolk we prioritise our safety inspections, undertaking more regular inspections on busier roads where there is a greater chance of a pothole causing problems.

“Whilst we do inspect all roads, but we’re also happy to receive reports from local residents about any potholes that are causing them concern, this can be done via highwaysreporting.suffolk.gov.uk

“Our teams repair thousands of potholes and other road defects in Suffolk all year-round – and have repaired over 1,000 more potholes when compared with the same quarter last year, around a 16 per cent increase.

“Unfortunately, during the colder months, water seeps into cracks in the road surface which freezes and damages road surfaces. This winter has seen some sustained and particularly cold periods that has increased pothole numbers above seasonal averages, not only in Suffolk but across the country.

“Therefore, we have increased our number of pothole repair teams, and in an aim to deliver more repairs we are adapting our methods in certain locations to repair defects quicker, whilst maintaining quality.

“We are working hard to reduce the number of potholes and other defects across Suffolk as quickly as we can.”

SCC was asked how many potholes are currently awaiting repair in Suffolk, but did not answer this question.

Kier was also approached for comment.