Pothole repairs slowed by red tape - Lib Dems

The Pothole Review, commissioned by Local Transport Minister Norman Baker, advised councils to take a “right first time” approach and fix damage immediately rather than face continuous bills.
West Berkshire Council said it complied with all the report suggested, however opposition highways spokesman Keith Woodhams (Thatcham West) has said he has been tied in knots trying to overhaul the council’s strategy of carrying out temporary repairs before then returning later to permanently fix a problem.
“There is so much red tape, we have inspectors driving around looking for problems or looking at reported problems, then driving back, reporting it to the council, then it goes through the system and takes so long,” he said.
“We need to do the job right, and do it first time. I have put forward a suggestion whereby inspectors carry a solution called Viafix around with them which would instantly fill the hole and fix the problem straight away.
"It is a more expensive than normal procedure but the time and money saved on visits, insurance payouts and man-hours would be more than recovered.”
A spokesman for West Berkshire Council, Keith Ulyatt, said no date had yet been set for a scrutiny meeting set up to address the issue which Mr Woodham’s raised in a motion in 2011.
West Berkshire Council recently announced a three-year £7.5m project to bring the district’s roads up to scratch, of which £4.1m would be set aside to pay for repairs to some of the poorest roads over the next three years.
It included plans to replace the previous pothole strategy with scheme to ensure problem areas are completely re-laid, with a range of different surface treatments used.
The programme forms part of the council’s Highways Asset Management Plan which was published on April 1.