Lincolnshire County Councillor explains rules about pothole filling after concerns raised about repairs in Sutherland Way and Stirling Road, Stamford

A frustrated resident has questioned why council workers fill in some potholes but ignore others which are just feet away.

Don Lambert first became aware of the council’s policy when a Lincolnshire County Council highways team was sent to repair the road and pavement in Sutherland Way and Stirling Road, Stamford, a couple of weeks ago.

Some holes were circled with yellow spray paint and filled in yet others in the same area were left untouched.

Veteran Don branded it as ridiculous. He said: “I can’t get my head around it - it’s a waste of money.

“It would have cost money just to send these people out yet they say they can’t fill the other potholes which are literally one foot away.”

The council usually repairs potholes deeper than 40mm on the roads and deeper than 25mm on a footpath.

Rather than resurfacing the whole road or pavement, they will ‘patch’ the most severe potholes which they think could be a hazard.

Lincolnshire County Councillor Richard Davies (Con), responsible for highways, said: “Of course, we will use common sense when we’re assessing potholes and other issues.

“We will often be a bit more inclined to raise some patching works in busier areas when it's a shallower deficit than those depth limits, so the measures are not an absolute rule.

“We do what we can as far as budgets allow and continue to do the very best we can with the resources we have available for Lincolnshire.”

In Sutherland Way, the repairs were done to the sections which were classified as a trip hazard.

These were on the road as well as on the pavement in front of the shop, an area which the council isn’t responsible for maintaining.

Coun Davies said: “We have patched the part of the road next to it that is ours and, to be frank, I think we've been generous with that big patch and continued to cover some of the private area adjacent with it too.

“Looking at this in the whole, we know that the area needs planned work, which we’re planning for in the future.

“For now, we will continue to do patches for the interim period to keep the road safe.

“We can't, and wouldn’t, just leave it until we get to do a full scheme in future, we’ll fill what is in dire need of attention.”

Don also raised a similar concern about pothole filling in Kesteven Road on the same day.

According to Coun Davies, these were temporary works and there is a ‘bigger job’ planned for later this month.

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