Potholes: The four questions MP has put to Amey over the state of Sheffield's roads
One of Sheffield’s MPs has now written to the firm in charge of fixing the city’s roads, amid concerns over its potholes
A wave of complaints about potholes on the city’s roads has been received by the authorities after one of the wettest Januarys on record.
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After a special meeting of councillors was called last month, Amey, who are contracted to repair Sheffield’s roads, said they would double the size of their repairs team, and say they will use more resilient materials.
Now, Marie Tidball, who is MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, wants answers and has written to Barnsley Council and Amey, who manage the Streets Ahead Programme on behalf of Sheffield City Council, about potholes and the state of local roads.
She said: “I did so because I’ve received a large number of emails and messages from constituents about the state of the roads across our communities.”
She wants to know:
> How are road maintenance and repairs being prioritised?
> What criteria are applied when deciding the urgency of repairs?
> What measures are in place to ensure the durability and quality of completed works?
> Are additional resources or revised approaches being considered to address the growing backlog?
She has already heard back from Coun James Higginbottom at Barnsley Council, but has not heard anything yet from Amey.
She said: “I strongly back the Government’s plans to keep local highway authorities accountable for their spending. To have access to their share of the £500 million uplift, councils will have to demonstrate how they prioritise preventative measures in road maintenance.
“This focus on long-term measures and investment will bring down costs and make a visible difference in our communities, allowing councils to plan their repairs effectively.”
She also says she wants more environmentally friendly repairs.
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Barnsley said they had a targeted pothole repair plan, which would look first at roads with ‘safety critical’ issues. They said they base repairs on routine inspections and public reports.
They described a threshold for repairs as holes that were 40mm deep and 150mm wide.
Urgency is based on how deep and wide the pothole is.
They also said they were shifting towards prevention so that repairs were not needed.