'Every road in Sheffield has a pothole': Handyman sick of tatty roads sets up 'pothole evidence group'
A handyman whose work takes him across the city says “every road in Sheffield has a pothole” - and now he plans to prove it.
Steve Holmes, who runs his own property services business, says there isn’t a road in the city he hasn’t driven down and felt his chassis rattle.
The 46-year-old’s work travelling across Sheffield has convinced him that every street he sees is deteriorating.
“It’s been going on for quite a while and it’s getting ridiculous,” said Steve. “It’s literally every single road I go on.
“I drive a van and I’ve had to have have tyres replaced and wheel parts, like wish bones and track rods changed, several times due to potholes.”
Now, Steve has set up the ‘Pot holes of Sheffield’ for drivers to record the worst holes they see and build up an evidence case to put to Amey, which manages Sheffield’s highways.
What he didn’t expect was that shortly after setting up the group on February 9, Amey would come under fire from across Sheffield over the state of the city’s roads, with the council calling a ‘urgent’ meeting for all councillors to answer questions about potholes on February 17.
Amey is halfway through its ‘Streets Ahead’ programme, a 25-year-old contract it was awarded in 2012 worth £2.2billion - but complaints are mounting about the quality of the pothole repairs being carried out.
Sheffield City Council confirmed on February 19 that Amey is now drafting in “extra repair teams” to address concerns.
Steve said: “I set this group up to spread a bit of awareness, when all of a sudden everyone began talking about the same thing.
“All anyone wants it for Amey to answer for what people are getting for their £2bn.
“That’s the bottom line - who and what is responsible, and at the end of the day, Amey have to be held to account. It’s a mess.”
The page is quickly filling with pictures from upset Sheffield residents of craters, sinkholes and torn-up tarmac from across the city.
They included one photo posted by Jack Hutchinson, whose tyre was shredded on the Tinsley Roundabout, one of the busiest routes in Sheffield which leads directly off J34 of the M1.
Steve said: “Another thing I’ve noticed is the shoddy repair work. The holes are not filled in, just patched over and tampered down, so it all comes out again within a week.
“I’ve also noticed how Amey come out to repair certain holes on a road and then don’t repair the other ones less than 100 paces away. They only fix the one they’ve been assigned to - just fix them all! You’re in the area!
“Just a few years ago when they won the contract, they were meant to replace every road in Sheffield. So why is this happening so soon?”
Sheffield MP Louise Haigh has also spoken out about the quality of pothole repairs being carried out in the city.
“Rpairs need to last, and our roads cannot remain in a constant cycle of patch-ups and deterioration,” she said.
“Sheffield deserves better and we need to see a far better service from Amey. I’ll keep pushing to make sure we see lasting improvements.”
Peter Anderson Managing Director of Amey's Transport Infrastructure Team, said: “Recent severe weather has had a significant impact across the UK, and we recognise the concerns and frustrations locally and are acting quickly to address them.
"Through the long‑term Streets Ahead programme, Amey has already been investing heavily in resurfacing and maintaining the city’s roads, and that commitment continues.
“Our focus remains on delivering lasting improvements while addressing immediate issues.
“We are using more resilient repair materials, adding more teams to deal with potholes and are scheduling permanent repairs as soon as conditions allow.
"All work is delivered to agreed quality standards, monitored jointly with the council.
“Our priority is supporting a reliable, safe road network for Sheffield - both now and in the years ahead.
“We would urge the residents to continue to report potholes so that repairs can be prioritised and carried out as quickly and effectively as possible.”