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Report
Medway residents demand potholes are repaired this winter
KentOnline / KMTV
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01/12/2023
It comes after the AA warned that October was the worst month for pothole breakdowns in its history.
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News
Transcript
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00:00
For two days here in Gillingham, window cleaner Roger Hogg couldn't work.
00:04
The reason? Potholes.
00:06
Back in April, his van hit a hole big enough to snap his drive shaft,
00:10
causing 350 pounds of damage.
00:13
But when he put a damages claim in with Medway Council,
00:17
they took until late July to respond and reject his claim.
00:21
For Roger, this felt like a betrayal.
00:23
It's the Medway Council's responsibility to upkeep the highway for the residents of Medway.
00:29
I felt that, you know, they haven't kept up their responsibility to help out the residents.
00:36
Always say, you know, we're here to help the residents of Medway.
00:39
That obviously hasn't done by keeping the highway up to standards.
00:43
Roger's experience here on Burnt Oak Avenue happened many moons ago,
00:47
but it's clear the problem is still here.
00:50
Just look at this massive piece of gravel that came from the pothole just over my shoulder.
00:56
It's clear more work needs to be done.
00:59
Looking at that pothole over there, that's not just a week or two old.
01:03
That's been there for a good couple of months and nothing's been done about it.
01:08
We put Roger's concerns to the leader of Medway Council.
01:11
This was his response.
01:13
I completely understand the frustrations of people like Roger and others
01:16
where they have those circumstances.
01:18
We as a new administration, we will do everything we can,
01:21
but I absolutely recognise we are inheriting a highway system
01:25
which is not particularly fit for purposes in parts of Medway
01:29
and there's always more to be done.
01:30
The AA reported that October was the worst month
01:33
for pothole-related breakdowns in their history,
01:36
with more than 50,000 breakdowns.
01:38
The Department for Transport has announced £12m to address potholes in Medway
01:43
over the next 10 years,
01:45
but Medway Council say the government announcement won't fill in residents' concerns.
01:50
We're getting £400,000 this year, £400,000 next year,
01:55
and then a vague promise of the rest of £12m,
01:58
with no clear timeline as to when that will be here.
02:01
So it's really difficult for highways professionals to plan
02:05
and us as elected representatives to plan the strategy ahead
02:09
if we've got no idea when that funding is coming forward.
02:12
Agha Khan has been fixing cars in Medway for 30 years.
02:15
He says potholes will only get worse as temperatures continue to drop.
02:20
If you drive down any road down Medway or anywhere around this area,
02:24
you're bound to see quite a few potholes, and some of them quite bad really.
02:29
And I think coming to winter now, it can only get worse really
02:34
because the rain will wash out some of the roads and that,
02:36
and the potholes will get bigger.
02:38
We reached out to the Department of Transport for comment.
02:41
This was their response.
02:42
"We are investing a record amount of funding into tackling potholes and resurfacing roads,
02:49
which will see highway maintenance funding to local authorities increase
02:52
by around two-thirds over the next decade."
02:55
With a yellow weather warning being issued, this problem could get a whole lot worse.
03:00
Oliver Leeds of the Sacks reporting for KMTV.
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