One hot topic hit the Journal’s Facebook page this weekend and unfortunately it had little to do with festive good spirit.
As you are probably well aware, there is an astounding number of potholes to have popped up recently around Grantham, some of them potentially dangerous.
From Sandon Road to Earlesfield Lane and beyond, people are driving in unsafe conditions and often having to pay out to repair damage to their vehicles that could otherwise have been avoided.
In order to deal with these dangers on the road we need to make sure that the council hears about it from us. Lincolnshire County Council is in charge of dealing with potholes, not our local South Kesteven District Council. LCC has a form available online to report potholes or you can call 01522 782070.
If you believe your car has been damaged by a pothole you can follow the same channels to claim compensation. However, in 2010 it was reported that only 10 per cent of claims were approved by the relevant agencies. It is very important that we report each pothole we are aware of as otherwise the Highways Agency is able to deny all knowledge of a particular pothole and is not liable.
Luckily for us, the Department for Transport is aiming to hand out an additional £6 million to LCC to what they already had stored in order to repair ‘crumbling roads’.
However, this will be accounted for across the county, which has a huge road network, meaning funds might be spread thin for Grantham.
If this sounds familiar however, it is because just in July the council was awarded another £2 million to fix drought-damaged roads. While extreme weather certainly plays a huge part in the condition of our roads, perhaps better care is needed in order to make sure the repairs given are not just, as one commenter called it, ‘bodge jobs’.