Spalding resident says her road has more potholes than 'craters on the moon'

A concerned resident says her pothole-ridden road now resembles a lunar landscape - but council bosses say it might take years until it can be fully fixed.

Marie Roe contacted us after seeing pictures of Halmergate in last week’s Lincolnshire Free Press and is convinced that the situation in Churchill Drive, where she lives, is even worse.

She said: “Churchill Drive has got more potholes than there are craters on the moon.

“I have had to have a new spring in my car because of them. It’s dangerous.”

Mrs Roe said that it’s impossible to avoid driving over the road’s worst patches, especially when cars are parked at the side of the street.

She added: “The dog walkers park their cars and so you just can’t avoid them.

“I wouldn’t even want to walk across the road. I don’t know how many there are - but you really can’t avoid them.”

Highways chiefs have promised to patch up the road soon - but say they are waiting for further funding before they can completely fix the issues.

Last week we reported how the county’s capital maintenance grant from the Department of Transport - which is spent on roads - was slashed from £51 million in 2020 to £38.7 million this year.

Richard Fenwick, county highways manager at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We’re aware of the potholes on Churchill Drive and will be patching these before this summer, with a view to carrying out longer-term repairs in the coming years when funding is available to fully rebuild the road.”

Hundreds of potholes waiting to be filled

Almost 700 potholes are waiting to be fixed in the South Holland and Boston area.

Highways chiefs say they have repairs planned for the vast majority of reported problems that are plaguing our roads - and say that the wet and cold winter weather has caused a lot of the damage.

Richard Fenwick, county highways manager at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We always see more potholes on our roads in the winter, as the wet and cold weather causes them to form more quickly. But we’re doing a lot of work across the county to repair these and keep the roads safe.

“In our Highways South area, which covers South Holland and Boston, we have around 672 reports from residents of potholes waiting to be fixed, and for over 85% of those, the repairs are already scheduled. In February, we filled 746 potholes, and in March we filled 848.”

In recent weeks, readers have criticised road repairs in the town and have questioned why temporary fixes have been made.

Mr Fenwick explained: “Sometimes when we get a report of a pothole – especially on busier routes – we’ll first do a temporary fix, to make sure the road safe as soon as possible. Then we’ll plan a more permanent repair with the right traffic management, at a time when the road isn’t too busy.

“Now that we’re moving into the warmer spring and summer months, our surface dressing and resurfacing schemes will be taking place across the county, prolonging the life of our roads and helping to prevent potholes from forming in the first place.”

Readers views: 'Halmergate is a 4x4 theme park'

Readers have been sending in their views on the area’s pothole problems.

Comments from readers on Facebook included:

Chris Hyde: “Halmergate is like a 4x4 theme
park.”

Diane Voss: “Oxcroft Bank in Moulton Chapel is a death trap.”

Amy Louise: “Cackle Hill Lane, Holbeach is bad again. They filled the potholes in and within a day all the tarmac had come out. You can’t drive
down there without your tyres going into potholes.”

Amanda Baggott: “There is a section on the bypass by the Cowbit roundabout that leaves me wondering if they are keeping a tally to win an award for the most re-filled potholes in Lincolnshire.”

Sally Hook: “Pinchbeck Road, from the junction with King Road to New Road. Bit of a slalom course around the potholes.”

Do you know of any roads in an even worse condition? Email jeremy.ransome@iliffepublishing.co.uk