Village could soon see the end of its potholes
POTHOLES, poor road surfaces and crumbling verges which have dogged the people of Clavering for years could soon be a thing of the past. More than �100,000 has been pledged by Essex County Council (ECC) to improving the village s dilapidated roads. Claver
POTHOLES, poor road surfaces and crumbling verges which have dogged the people of Clavering for years could soon be a thing of the past.
More than �100,000 has been pledged by Essex County Council (ECC) to improving the village's dilapidated roads.
Clavering parish councillor Nigel Cook said: "The council is delighted with the funding, but my feeling is that this will only scratch the surface of what needs to be done."
The Stickling Green Road is set to receive �66,000 worth of improvements and a further �35,000 will be spent on repairing the Ford End Road.
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"There is no doubt that the surface of the road was becoming dangerous, especially for cyclists and motorbikes," said Cllr Cook.
"It is not just the poor weather that has caused the damage. Increasingly the roads are being used by larger vehicles which are artificially widening the roads and causing the verge to crumble."
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The parish has been working to bring the state of the roads to the attention of the highways department and Cllr Cook even resorted to driving county councillor Ray Gooding along every damaged road in the area.
"He wouldn't let me out until I had seen every pothole in the village," said Cllr Gooding. "Clavering has a very particular problem which has escalated over the winter and during the bad weather.
"The money is part of long-term maintenance work by ECC Highways to make sure the roads last for another 10 to 15 years."
Although he welcomed the funding, Cllr Cook did express concern that previous attempts to improve the roads had been patch-up jobs rather than long-term solutions to the problem.
"If the maintenance had been done properly in the first place, we wouldn't need such a big job now," he said. "Roads like the B1038 are starting to show signs of damage and ECC Highways need to keep on top of the repair."
The work is expected to be started within the next three months.
ARE you satisfied with the state of the roads in your area? Let us know by emailing alistair.nelson@archant.co.uk
