A man has slammed the council over the state of the roads after spending hundreds of pounds repairing his car.
Benjamin Hant demanded “decent and safe roads” from Bucks Council after spending more than £800 in six months fixing his car – and after a recent incident put the vehicle “out of action”.
Mr Hant claimed in the last year he bought new springs and shocks, control arms, ball joints, and several tyres due to “damaged and dangerous” road conditions in High Wycombe, and that he now also needs a new steering rack.
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He said some damage was done on Cock Lane heading towards Hazlemere, and on the A404 heading towards Wycombe station.
Mr Hant said temporary fixes do not work, adding after two weeks “they come back bigger and worse than before”.
Bucks Council recently announced it will invest £100 million into highway improvements over the next four years.
Two burst tyres
Roads in the county “suffer more than most” according to the council, due to direct links from Buckinghamshire to London, Oxford, and Milton Keynes.
“What is it going to take from the council of this town in order to have decent and safe roads?” said Mr Hant. “This is beyond a joke and it’s a failure in the council’s responsibility to maintain our streets and highways.
“I have spent over £800 in six months fixing my car due to the damaged and dangerous roads that plague this town. Tonight (Nov 27), I fell victim again. Two ruined tyres and a cracked rim, so my car is now out of action once again.
Cracked rims and ripped tyres
He added: “I simply would like to earn a living without having the constant repair bills.
“Those who are responsible for the repairs need to stop temporarily filling in the potholes and put a proper action plan together to renew all our damaged surfaces to stop them coming back.
“They just fill them in with a blob of Tarmac and say it’s fixed, then in about two weeks they come back bigger and worse than before.”
Cllr Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport said: “We are sorry to hear of Mr Hant’s unfortunate incidents. We would like to reassure him and other road users that highway defects in Buckinghamshire, as with other local authorities, are treated in line with national codes of good practice through a regime of inspection, classification and prioritisation. All roads in the county (totalling 3,200km) are subject to regular inspection in line with this approach.
“The annual funding available for highway repairs is insufficient to address all defects identified immediately. For this reason, priority defects will receive a repair within appropriate timescales with those posing a safety risk treated the most quickly. More minor defects may be scheduled for repair at a later time or included in a future programme of maintenance but they will be monitored for any future deterioration and treated should they then present a risk.
“Should Mr Hant or any road users become aware of defects on our network, these can be reported on our website at: Buckinghamshire.gov.uk/fix-my-street
"This information will be passed on to the relevant officer to investigate.”
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