Lynne Featherstone MP has slammed Labour-run Haringey Council for failing to take better care of the borough’s roads, and failing to manage repairs efficiently.
Early this year, Haringey Council announced a ‘pothole blitz,’ to repair the borough’s many dangerous roads. However, the Liberal Democrat MP has criticised this as a ‘botch job’ – following complaints from residents that many dangerous potholes remain.
The MP for Hornsey and Wood Green has also expressed her concern about how repairs were managed and carried out. On many roads, some potholes were filled in but others left untouched.
On others like Rectory Gardens, the Labour-run council ordered repairs to potholes just before a scheduled resurfacing of the road. This prompted residents to contact the local MP to complain about the waste of time and taxpayers money, which could have been used to repair potholes on roads which have not been subsequently resurfaced.
Lynne Featherstone MP commented: “Unfortunately this is just typical of Labour-run Haringey Council. They make grand statements about a ‘pothole blitz’ – but it is all talk. Yet again they have failed to manage the project and failed to deliver results.
“It is ridiculous to repair potholes in a road just days before resurfacing it completely. Similarly, to only repair a couple on a road and leave others on the same road untouched. What a lack of common sense – and what a waste of local taxpayers’ money.
“Now, going into winter, Haringey residents are still faced with many unsafe roads, which increase the chances of accidents and damage to cars.
“Enough is enough. At the end of this week, I will be contacting my constituents and asking them to inform me of the most dangerous potholes in their local area. I’ll then present these to Haringey Council and demand further action before winter sets in.”
UPDATE: The council’s own official figures show that the blitz was a flop with only one in three potholes reported to the council fixed within its own target time.
‘which increase the chances of accidents and damage to cars’. Do people only get around in cars in your world, Lynn? Not even half of Haringey residents even own one. Well done on addressing the serious issue of road maintenance, but the consequences of poor roads are far wider and more serious than ‘damage to cars’.